Of a Kunoichi and a Lazy Demoness
by Hector Enix
Summary: AU. Despite putting forth her best efforts, Tsukiko is always trailing behind the other ninja. One day though, she happens upon a very lazy bijou...; Yuri, Oc Main and pairing, Lemons later. *I'd say femNaru, but Tsukiko is way too Oc to be a femNaru*
1. Meeting the Demoness

Hello, greetings, salutations, and Goodbye... My Freaky Darlings.

This was just a little whim I had after reading several Sesshoumaru/Rin stories; the thought of a demon and a young girl falling in love has moved me. Though, the girl in this story isn't as young as Rin; she's 16. She'll also be taking Naruto's place as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Minato lives because Sarutobi used the jutsu, Kushina survived the birth of her daughter, and not many know that the Yondaime's daughter is a jinchuuriki. In short, she has a pretty good life in terms of treatment and living conditions. However, I'd be lying if I said this was all about her.

Meet our other protagonist, the demon who decided she had grown tired of her favorite land, and went on a little walkabout. Where does she end up? Fire Country, her good-old-friend's stomping ground. Is she a huge mammal, rampaging around? No. Is it pretty damn obvious she's not human? Without the cloak, yeah. Is she evil? Not even close... just lazy. Is she powerful? No one knows; she barely gets up to feed herself on the daily basis, let alone find the energy to rampage and prove her power.

Lazy demon meets shitty kunoichi. Let's see what happens.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Crown me, with the leaf off of the tree; on it, I see, the freedom reign.", she sang to the air as she walked.

She was an odd sight for some; if you were used to dealing with the eccentricities of most ninja, you might overlook her, but those who passed her on the road often stared.

At six feet, nine inches tall, she was far from the standard height of most women, and those who looked closely saw her clothing loosely hugging her lithe and feminine frame. She wore a tight gray mask that covered the lower portion of her face, and a large hood that covered and shadowed the rest. Still, flowing hair fell from the hood, as blue as the ocean and falling to her waist. Most of it was tucked into the space between her haori and cloak, falling slightly farther than the hair that escaped her hood.

Her clothing was _somewhat_ normal to the casual observer, if a tiny bit eccentric; a deep blue pair of hakama with white fire at the bottom, straw sandals, a white haori with golden lines that formed waves, a large gray traveling cloak that often covered her entire form, and fingerless black gloves that went to his elbows; the left was marked with a white kanji for wind, while the other had a green kanji for Earth. Only a ninja would wonder why a woman dressed in pristine clothing would cover it with such a worn cloak, and why she would bother to cover all of her face.

Silver eyes narrowed in amusement as another group whispered about her, all but glowing in her hood's darkness. She glanced down, seeing the leaf-design brooch kept her cloak tightly around her was still in place as she walked into Konaha.

"We are falling, the light is calling; Tears inside me, calm me down.", she continued, her enchanting voice not traveling far in the din of the village. She wouldn't stay here long; just long enough to cut through the village to the mountain where they had mauled the stone by putting their previous ruler's faces up. A pity.

Her real destination was set a mile or three behind the mountain; a little grove inside another small mountain that was difficult to find unless you knew where it was. She remembered going that with her old friend, back when he could be called that. The Good old days, before he became obsessed with power.

Hikari Avaron sighed. She missed those days.

**(Training Ground 13)**

She didn't know what she had done wrong; what deity she had pissed off to have deserved the fate she was stuck with. Tsukiko knew she wasn't the best Kunoichi of her "class", but being constantly talked down to by that crazy Uchiha and his fangirl wasn't what she deserved. She tried, very hard she might add, to perfect her jutsu and her stealth, but she had no luck: She's snap twigs, step on dry leaves, cough when saying a jutsu, and a menagerie of other things that seemed to be random.

Unfortunately, her lousy skills had gotten her team flunked out of the Chuunin exams; Kakashi-sensei didn't seem bothered, and urged her to keep on training. Sasuke had been insulted, and had been ranting about her "Holding him back" and of course, Sakura agreed wholeheartedly. The worst part was the fact her father was the Hokage, and he was taking it _well_. Everyone always treated her nicely, and it really bothered her.

Maybe it was because of the fact she hadn't done anything to deserve it; maybe it was because she knew what the villagers would think if they knew she was a jinchuuriki instead of just a normal kunoichi.

She walked away after yet another training session full of mocking, a scowl marring her pretty features.

Physically, she was well off for a kunoichi of 16; five feet, six inches, a lithe frame and a decently developed figure that denoted her future looks. Large C-cups and a rear that was just a little too small to be in proportion with her chest. She had long, red hair that fell straight to the middle of her back; she generally kept it in a pony tail with two bangs framing her face, much like Sasuke's much more bearable brother. Still, she didn't focus on her looks and took being a kunoichi, even if she was a poor one, seriously.

She wore a tight undershirt of mesh, with a black leather vest over it for protection, which was roughly modeled after the Konaha jounin vest. It hugged her form, there were many pockets for various items, and the leather itself was durable; more then enough to stop glancing kunai and shuriken. She wore a red belt with a kunai pouch at her left hip, holding up her blue pants. They were semi-loose, and looked flimsy, but had a mesh weave inside that gave some protection while not restricting mobility. Her feet were adorned with blue ninja sandals.

"Why can't I get this right?", she asked herself as she walked along, having been wondering it silently for years. She had always managed to just barely get by, but now she saw that it just wasn't enough. "It's not like I'm lazing around here. I'm trying!", she complained to herself, walking towards the hokage monument. Behind it, a mile or three into the forest, was her secret haven.

Minato and his wife, Kushina, technically knew where it was, but she had made them promise not to go there; she wanted it as a place to go and let off steam and just be alone when she wanted to be. They had respected her wishes, and left her clearing alone.

Her father and mother were supportive and tried to help their daughter, but their styles just never fit her; a movement felt wrong, or a strike felt off. She tried to muscle through it and adapt, but she always failed horribly. The one thing she had going for her was her stamina and chakra; she could train and, provided she knew the jutsu well enough, practice said jutsu for hours longer than anyone else. That, for some reason however, didn't seem to help her.

"Not only am I a failure, I'm a practiced failure who gets constantly reminded of her abilities.", she muttered, walking up the path to the top of the mountain. People she passed bowed, greeting her as the "Yondaime's Honorable Daughter". She couldn't help but wonder how badly they'd react if they knew about her tenant.

Part of her wanted to blame the Kyuubi inside her, but all the fox had done was quietly lay there, all but dead to her, and let off chakra that slowly expanded her own pools. She had actually tried to thank the fox once for it's "help", but it had simply shut it's eyes and muttered "Self Preservation". Her father had forbidden her to talk to it when she told him, but on those few nights when she found herself in her mindscape instead of dreaming, she almost always sat in front of the Kyuubi's cage and tried to talk to it. It never answered, but it would stare at her, like it couldn't tell what she was.

She hopped the short fence, there to let civilians know where the village technically "ended" back there, and even managed _not_ to catch her foot and face-plant on the other side. A small achievement, but it did bring a small smile to her face. She continued through the thick forest, taking a path that only a few knew about. It was a well hidden cave that served as a tunnel to a four mile wide valley.

She sighed as her eyes rolled over the scenery; it was always beautiful in the spring. It was enclosed, more akin to a huge crater then a valley in some ways, but trees covered the sides and top of the mountain; it gave the illusion that there was nothing there but a mountain covered in trees if you were looking from the outside. She was pretty sure that it was a dormant volcano, an had been for some time considering the size of some of the trees. There were plenty of smaller trees and other foliage in the valley too though, and there was a well worn path that lead her safely through said foliage. On the other side of the trees was a large field taking up most of the crater, with most of the trees on the outside rim, and a small lake in the middle. There was a tree on a hill in front of her; it was where she liked to sit and think. The shade was divine, and the view was perfect given the slope of the hill.

"...Black night, Dark sky, The devils cry...", a divine voice sang, only becoming audible when she neared. Tsukiko froze: someone else had found her sanctuary. She put on what she hoped was a tough face and strode forward, intent on finding the intruder... and hoping she could make them leave.

Hikari heard her coming, and having finished her song, simply sat there, waiting for whoever had found her sanctuary.

Tsukiko walked past the tree and looked down the hill to find a figure sitting down, a gray cloak hiding their features. She stomped down to where they sat, intent on at least trying to scare them off.

"Hey!", she called, a few feet and closing. Hikari looked back, hood pulled back just far enough to let the girl see her face, and smiled through her mask.

"This one greets you.", she replied, knowing that it hadn't been a greeting. Still, the girl had stopped and was staring at her mask in confusion. "Does something trouble you?"

"What are you doing here? This is my sanctuary; I found it first.", Tsukiko said firmly, though she was surprised to see the mask resembling Kakashi's; judging be the part of her face she could see, she was quite beautiful. Why hide it with a mask?

"How old are you?", Hikari asked, giving an eye smile as well. Tsukiko blinked, losing her angry expression at the seemingly random question.

"Sixteen and a half.", she said cautiously. She was surprised by the ethereal laugh that came from the other girl.

"Forgive this one's laughter; she found this place far before you were even born. But there is surely enough room for both you and this one; take a seat.", She replied politely, motioning to the hill in general.

Tsukiko was slightly confused by her speech pattern, but cautiously sat down several feet to her left.

"So what's your name?", Tsukiko asked, not sure of what to make of this woman.

"Hikari Avaron is the name of this one. What is your name, M'lady?", she asked in return, laying down in the grass. Her hood stayed in place because of her enchantment on it, and she kept her eyes skyward as she laced her fingers behind her head.

Tsukiko flushed at being called "M'lady" by another woman, but slowly laid down as well, lacing her fingers on top of her stomach instead.

"Tsukiko Namikaze.", she replied, glancing over to see the other woman's eyes now locked onto her. Hikari propped herself up on her elbow and looked over at Tsukiko intensely, searching for something in her eyes. It unnerved the girl. "W-what are you doing?"

"...", she didn't answer at first, continuing to look in her eyes before sighing and flopping back down unto her back. "This one was wrong; you aren't the Kyuubi reincarnated. Truly, you father is a Master of Seals to have trapped this one's friend.",she said, almost lamenting.

"H-how did you...?", She asked, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Namikaze. The Yondaime's daughter was the one the Sandaime sealed a Kyuubi no Kitsune in; I wondered if such power as a Kyuubi's could have broken through human arts. This one was wrong.", Hikari explained, looking upward.

Tsukiko suddenly felt a little alone out here. She knew about some ninja who held grudges against her, and being so far from Konaha with a person who was obviously bigger and possibly stronger, who thought she might have been the Kyuubi... it scared her a little.

"That's not public information. Tell me how you learned about me.", Tsukiko demanded, sitting up with a kunai. She was trying to put on a tough and strong facade, hoping to deter any conflict. Or something like that.

"This one is better informed about the Fire Lands then most. Be calm Tsukiko, this one means you no harm.", Hikari said, opening her cloak to show a lack of weapons. She closed it quickly though, once she was sure that the girl had gotten a good look.

There was silence as Tsukiko lowered her kunai, and even let her gaze turn to the lake. Hikari kept staring at the sky, wondering how long she would stay. Days, weeks, months, years? It's not like she was on a tight schedule...or any schedule for that manner.

Tsukiko took a moment to find her voice to apologize, but only found her thoughts stuck in her own inability to defend herself. Even if this woman was a civilian, her chances were good against Tsukiko.

"I'm sorry. Not like you were in any danger though; it's not like I'm some super jounin.", she muttered, bringing her knees up to her chest and folding her arms over them. "I barely qualify for genin."

"This one is old, and has listened to many things; Speak to her if you wish.", Hikari offered. Tsukiko looked over with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't sound old... and you don't look old.", she muttered, looking at her long blue hair. When she looked into her silver-blue eyes though, she saw that sort of knowing look that Jiraiya and Tsunade always had when she was afraid to tell them something. It was weird, seeing those eyes on such a sharp face, if the mask was anything to go by, but she felt a little more comfortable after seeing them. "(Sigh) I have lots of Chakra and stamina, but I absolutely suck at being a ninja. Quite frankly, I'd be doing better if I put on an orange jumpsuit and shouted "Here I am, Kill me!". Every style I try won't work for me, and every jutsu I try gets messed up by my huge chakra pools."

Hikari smiled, remembering that Kenji had the same problem when they were kits. Then again, it was by choice that he abandoned the clan's style and went with his own style of wanton destruction. Hikari, through the few fights she had fought over the years, stuck with the style she had been taught from birth; it was effective, and you didn't have to waste energy killing people.

"Perhaps this one can help you. Would you like to see my style?", Hikari offered, standing up. This human did show some signs of potential; she doubted Kaze Mai would be the key to unlock it, but it would be fun to watch regardless.

"What good will that do? I'll screw up a swing, and then I'll get my ass kicked.", she muttered. She was, of course, somewhat curious as to why a stranger would offer to teach her a fighting style.

"This one wonders what trying will harm? It won't hurt at all.", she said, offering a hand to Tsukiko. The girl sighed and took it, surprised by the softness of the woman's fingers, but even more surprised when she was easily pulled to her feet with a single fluid motion. Tsukiko looked at the hand as it left her own, somewhat shocked by how much strength she had felt stored up in. "Follow me."

Tsukiko followed, sudden curiosity replaced by depression as she got ready to get her ass kicked. For some reason, despite the fact that any ninja with a brain would be a little distrustful of such circumstances, she couldn't help but trust the odd woman. Hikari led her to the flatter part of the field, which Tsukiko used for training anyway.

"Stand here while this one instructs.", she said, moving about five feet away. "All you must do is throw a punch at this one. Any kind will do."

"You...want me to punch you?", Tsukiko asked, blinking. It's not like Hikari was in a stance or anything. Still, she walked forward and threw a quick right jab that was horribly executed.

Hikari just took a step back and the punch missed completely.

"A kick now."

Tsukiko groaned but stepped forward threw a roundhouse kick at Hikari's legs. Hikari, in response, jumped back, the jump making the kick whoosh right under her.

"Do you see?", she asked, smiling. This was amusing at least; it was fun to finally be doing something.

"No.", Tsukiko replied, confused. Hikari's smile widened through the mask.

"What did this one do when you punched?", she asked. She knew the girl would think it stupid or overly simple, but it were the simple things that were the most effective.

"You stepped back."

"And what did you have to do to kick at this One?".

"Step forward."

Hikari smiled and stepped back again.

"Thus, by doing naught but stepping back and out of the way, you must expend energy moving towards this one to strike. Are you capable of what the shinobi call "kawarimi"?", Hikari asked, seeing the realization in Tsukiko's eyes; the potential was running through her mind, but Hikari saw something else start to cloud over it.

"It's just about the only jutsu I can do right...", She lamented. Hikari stepped forward and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"When your back is near to a wall or tree, use kawarimi on anything far from your target. Then they must turn and chase you.", Hikari explained, smiling. "Tire them out; with your stamina and chakra, you could do it for hours. Then when they're tired and used to the pattern of dodging, one quick strike is all you need. If you move suddenly, their mind won't be able to react in time due to being lured into a trance of sorts."

"...So... nothing but dodging?", Tsukiko asked, still down. "Every time I try, I get hit. I-"

"Do or do not; there is no try. Now let us try this again. This time, however, you shall dodge while this one attacks. Ready?", She asked taking a few steps back. She had to remind herself not to swing hard or fast; this girl was definitely breakable.

"I... I am.", Tsukiko said, ready to give it her all. She could bear the thought of giving up without at least trying.

"Relax. Think of it like a game of tag; you don't want to be "It", do you?", Hikari smiled, taking a lazy stance.

She moved forward, throwing a punch at Tsukiko's midsection. Fighting the urge to move to the side, she stepped back, proceeding to jump over a low kick while moving backwards.

She had to admit that Hikari was throwing some pretty fast punches and kicks, but she found herself dodging them all and making Hikari chase her. Still, judging by the lake's position in her vision, she didn't have much room left.

"Kawarimi!", she called, leaving Hikari's fist to hit a leaf. The woman turned and smile at the young kunoichi; neither was winded and they were both starting to have fun.

Hikari closed the gap quicker then Tsukiko expected, but she smiled and kept dodging, thrilled to have found a style that worked for her. It was so simple anyone could do it, but it was effective as hell. It was also sort of a rush to be able to dodge the attacks.

"Perhaps I should say that, despite my attack speed, I don't tire very quickly. You'll get tire long before I will, and then we'll stop.", Hikari said, the dialect getting Tsukiko's attention.

"Hey, you're saying I instead of this one...", she trailed off, dodging a kick.

"It had been a very long time since this one... since I have spoken to people. Returning to the proper dialect may take a few days. Do you come here often?", she replied, throwing a jab.

"Everyday. How often are you going to come?", Tsukiko asked, backpedaling.

"I'll be here for a year or so, depending. But I'll be spending that time here, not in Konaha.", she replied, enjoying the mid-fight conversation. "Tell me, how is it doing?"

They carried on like this for an hour, talking while Hikari got Tsukiko used to the dodging style. Eventually though, Tsukiko found herself on her back, having tripped on a rock. Hikari smiled and helped her up, letting out a quiet, yet ethereal laugh.

"It seems that you're tired, Tsukiko-chan. Go home and rest, tomorrow... do whatever you kunoichi do, and then come back here if you have the time.", she said, still smiling behind the mask.

Tsukiko flushed a little at the praising tone; sure, nothing she had said actually commended her efforts, but she could just sort of tell the this strange woman that she had met just over and hour ago was proud of her.

"I should go home; my mother might be getting worried. Ja Ne, Hikari-chan.", she said, jogging off and realizing after a few feet that they had been talking like best friends after during the fight; she had just called her Hikari-_chan. _She continued jogging though, only pausing to turn around when a question popped into her mind that she couldn't ignore. "Hey Hikari-chan!", she shouted, turning around, blushing at the second unintentional chan.

"Yeah?", she shouted back, sitting down at the tree on the hill.

"Where did you learn that style?"

Hikari smiled, though she couldn't see it, and let out a divine laugh.

"I learned it when I was a kit. Now go home and rest. Don't be afraid to use it in a real fight, it works!", she called, laying back down afterwards. Tsukiko paused, not sure she had understood her properly, but turned and left, figuring the distance altered the words a little.

She heard Tsukiko leave, chuckling as she looked to the sky and the fading light. Kenji was far from having any influence on the girl, save for her chakra and stamina; it was simply coincidental she had met with Hikari this day. Still, the Bijou couldn't help but wonder how Kenji, the supposedly unstoppable Kyuubi no Kitsune, was dealing with his confinement. She wouldn't try to free him if it would hurt the girl; it was rare that a human would speak with her. Instincts generally stopped people from going near people like her, but Kenji might have inadvertently blocked some of her instincts regarding demons.

"Tsu-ki-ko-chan...",Hikari whispered, liking the sound of the name. Perhaps this trip would provide a little less relaxation then she had planned, with needing to train Tsukiko, but that still left a long time for sleeping and rolling in the grass...

"And all I want is to go home, just for a bit... but these padded rooms are the shit!"

And singing. Hikari liked to sing.

**(With Tsukiko)**

She ran as fast as she could home, suddenly feeling really happy. Like she had just made up for the years of poor ability in that one hour sparring match. A wide smile now spread across her lips in stark contrast to the frown that had marred her features earlier.

She jumped clear over the small fence, surprising herself. It was a five foot fence; that was a hell of a jump, considering her usual trouble with just climbing it. She just smiled and let a little more pride fill her up, dashing off to the Namikaze mansion.

She ignore the people who bowed to her, wanting to get home and tall her parents about her new friend. That made her slow to a walk though...

Hikari had known about the Kyuubi... but she never really said how. If her mother or father learned about her, they might have to take her in for questioning, regardless of the benefits of her training. She didn't really want to lie to her parents, but she decided to say nothing unless they asked. She usually stayed at the sanctuary for an hour and a half anyway; she doubted they would be suspicious.

"_Father probably isn't even home. So it's just mom and me. Great, she'll believe me if I say I fell asleep or something.",_Tsukiko thought to herself. It wouldn't be the first time she had told a little white lie to her parents; besides, it's not like Hikari was mean or anything, or like keeping their meeting secret would hurt anyone. Still, she had to wonder if actually lying would be a good idea. If she started to go off and repeatedly train with Hikari, and then she suddenly comes into Konaha looking for Tsukiko and finds her with her parents...

She found herself at the door to her own house a little sooner than she wanted, but she sighed and got ready. She opened the door and put on her best "Average day" face.

"Mom! I'm home!", she called happily. Kushina Uzumaki walked around the corner of the hall that lead to the kitchen and dining room, smiling at her daughter.

"Hey Tsuki-chan, how did training go?", she asked. Kushina knew her daughter struggled with being a kunoichi, though she was confident that it was just a lack of a proper style.

Tsukiko took her sandals off and walked forward, giving her mother a hug.

"Okay; still couldn't beat Sasuke-teme in a spar.", she spat, still angry about that. Minato was a little touchy about his "Little girl" calling people teme and swearing, but Kushina didn't mind so long as she made sense when she swore. Or at least used proper Japanese when swearing instead of gibberish.

"Did you try the nutshot?", Kushina offered, raising an eyebrow.

"Kakashi-sensei said that it was a move best left for fights against "non-allies".", Tsukiko groaned. In all truth, a running start to help add some momentum and power before she kicked Sasuke in the dice so hard that they'd bounce off his stomach... sounded like a good way to start a day. "So no."

"Pity. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll go home and Itachi-kun will throw him around a bit. I swear, there are days I think the boy has a crush on you.", Kushina joked, knowing it was a sore spot for the girl.

"For the last time, Itachi-kun is interested in Ayame-chan. Since I'm her friend, he sticks up for me to impress her.", she groaned. "I swear to Kami I'll bring a girl home and screw her in front of you if it'll stop those jokes."

She was an accomplished kunoichi, retired mind you, and not much freaked Kushina out; she was a little homophobic though. She didn't have a problem being friends with them, or with her daughter being friends with them, but she didn't want her daughter to _be_ gay.

"Promise not to make that kind of joke again?", Kushina asked, sighing.

"Only if you stop with the Itachi thing; the guy is head over heels for Ayame.", Tsukiko deadpanned. She didn't like any of the guys from her generation, and she sure as hell didn't like any from and older generation; same went for the women. Kushina's fear for her daughter's sexuality was a mystery to the girl; she didn't know if it was just a bad experience or some other happenstance that made her touchy about the subject.

She also couldn't understand why the memory of Hikari's soft skin came to mind at that moment, but she shook it off.

Kushina walked with her daughter into the dining room.

"Hey mom... has anything ever happened that seems really random, maybe even made you mad at first, but it turns out to be a good thing?", Tsukiko asked as they sat down.

"Well...", Kushina started, slightly caught off guard by the question. Normally Tsukiko only asked training questions or ones pertaining to daily happenstance; forays into her mother's opinion of her past was rare.. "...Your father ran face first into my breasts when we first met... actually that's _how_ we met. Does that count?"

Tsukiko almost facevaulted, but settled for sweatdropping.

"Yeah...",she said, looking out the window. Kushina's brow furrowed; her daughter rarely got so... spaced out.

"Honey, is everything alright? If you want to talk to me about something...", she offered. She knew that, on top of her kunoichi worries, 16 was a hectic time for most girls.

"It's nothing.", Tsukiko said, realizing she was actually a very bad liar.

"What's wrong honey?", Kushina asked, looking her daughter in the eye.

"Nothing. I'm just tired.", she replied, looking back out the window.

"You've come home tired before, and you didn't act like this. Just tell me what happened and I'll leave you alone.", Kushina offered, deciding to go with the "Last Resort". "I won't tell your father if that's what you're worried about."

"Look...", Tsukiko, knowing damn well she wouldn't get any piece until she said something. "I... met someone at my sanctuary. I think she was a retired Kunoichi, and I don't know how she got there, but she said she had found it before I was born; I couldn't make her leave anyway. We talked for a little, since neither one of us really wanted to fight for it, and one thing lead to another...", the said, wondering how much to tell her. Kushina was starting to freak out a little, as Tsukiko had trailed off at a very... imaginative place. "... She showed me a style that sort of works for me. Look, don't tell dad. I just have a bad feeling about him knowing right now."

Kushina let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, this will stay between us. You had me worried for a minute there.", Kushina admitted, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"...You are _really_ homophobic... you know that, right?.", Tsukiko deadpanned. Kushina huffed, and crossed her arms over her sizable chest.

"I'm aware.", she muttered, looking away childishly.

"What would you do if I fell in love with another woman? I haven't, but... what if I did?", Tsukiko asked, serious. She had never asked this question before.

"...Love, and not some fling to rebel?", Kushina asked, getting a nod. She unfolded her arms an sighed, putting an elbow on the table and leaning on it. "Then I'll learn to live with it, if it's Love. I might not like it, but if my baby will be happy with another woman, I'll deal with it."

Tsukiko groaned at the name.

"I'm not a little girl anymore; I'm a kunoichi.", she complained. Kushina chuckled and patted her daughter on the head.

"I don't care if you're the Godaime; you'll always be my daughter, and that means I can call you whatever embarrassing name I want. Now, seriously, is there a girl you like, or was it just a random question after living with me for this long?", Kushina asked. Luckily, Tsukiko didn't have to lie.

"Random question.", she replied, unsure of why Hikari's silver eyes suddenly popped into her mind.

**(Next day, training field Seven.)**

"Good Morning Kakashi-sensei.", Tsukiko greeted, surprised to see the normally late jounin here before her.

"Morning Tsukiko. You're a little late; you _did_ move your clock ahead an hour last night, right?", he asked, giving her an eye smile that made her thoughts shoot to Hikari. She realized what he said and groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me; I forgot to do _that_?", Tsukiko complained. Kakashi shrugged.

"At least you have a legit excuse; I'm usually bullshitting when I say that.", he chuckled. "We're just doing some sparring today, and then you guys can go home; I have a mission later and I couldn't get a substitute on short notice. Sorry. We've been training pretty hard anyway, so a "half-day" won't kill us, right?", he asked, walking over to the other two. "Alright, Tsukiko has arrived, so let's start. Sasuke, you'll spar with her first."

"Great, setting me up with the loser who decided to be late.", he murmured, taking his place on his side of the field. Tsukiko stood opposite him, though at the memory of Hikari's training, she took the same relaxed pose that the style needed. "What the hell are you doing loser?"

"Tsukiko, take your stance; I'm starting the spar in a moment.", Kakashi warned.

"New style, just learned it yesterday.", she admitted, calming her mind. Do or do not; there is no try. Dodge, she picked dodge. She pictured the field and the woman who had taught her, opening her eyes almost reluctantly.

"Ha, this will be even quicker than usual.", Sasuke scoffed, taking the Interceptor style stance.

"Go Sasuke-kun!", Sakura cheered.'

"And... go!", Kakashi shouted, keeping an eye on Tsukiko; the girl was full of surprises. Still, one day did not a master make.

She exhaled as Sasuke neared her; it was nothing more than a game of tag, like Hikari-chan said. She flushed at the suffix but focused on Sasuke. He seemed... slower...

A punch came at her and she gracefully stepped back, taking another step back as an elbow came at her as a follow up.

"Dammit, Hold still!", Sasuke shouted, seeing her dodge with as much ease as his brother.

The flurry of blows that he unleashed was dodged, forcing him to step forward with each blow, though he smirked as she neared a tree. Her back bumped the wood and he closed in.

"Kawarimi."

His fist went through the smoke cloud and struck the wood with a fair bit of force, making him grunt in pain. He whirled around, seeing her on the other side of the field.

Kakashi had to admit, he was impressed. Normally, Sasuke would have landed most of those strikes, but none touched her and he had to waste energy chasing after her. It was a fairly predictable pattern; he would chase her to one end, then she would Kawarimi to another point, forcing him to run after her. He had throw shuriken once, but she just turned and they went right by her. Even the pattern of dodging was decently simple, but it was still effective so long as she was a touch faster than Sasuke. Speaking of which, when _had_ she become faster than Sasuke?

If she could dodge jutsu as well as taijutsu, then fights would be much easier for the girl. Opponents suffering from chakra exhaustion tended to go down easy, after all.

"Dammit!", he shouted, running forward. For every attack, a dodge. Soon enough, Sasuke was panting in exhaustion while Tsukiko still looked like she hadn't been training at all; a tiny bit of her hair had been freed from her ponytail, but other than that she was fine.

He charged at her again, still moving much slower to Tsukiko's eyes. She backpedaled and smirked as Sasuke was thrown off-balance by a punch. Seeing her chance, she used kawarimi on a leaf that was floating down behind Sasuke. She preformed a neck chop, almost gasping when he went down.

That had been _easy._

**(Later, Sanctuary)**

"Hikari-chan! Hikari-chan!", Tsukiko called, running towards the tree where she had met the woman. She got to the top of the hill and almost laughed; Hikari was asleep, hood pulled down to cover her eyes. She walked down to her, and sat down beside her. "Time to wake up, Hikari-chan!", she said loudly, trying to wake the woman up.

"Good...(Yawn)... good morning, Tsukiko-chan. What can I do for you?", Hikari said, yawning again. She sat up slowly, stretching.

"Thanks to that style you showed me, I beat Sasuke-teme in a spar! Thank you so much!", she said, smiling and bowing her head to the older girl. "Where did you say you learned it? When you were a kid, right?", she asked, smiling.

"Kit, not kid.", Hikari corrected, giving an eye smile. "Kitsune, not human.", she added, still smiling.

"You're... joking. Right?", Tsukiko asked, chuckling. Hikari shook her head.

"I'm what most humans call a demon; a Bijou, more specifically.", she said, a little sadly. "No one ever wants to talk to me though after I say that though... Are you going to run now?", she asked, silver eyes sad.

Tsukiko flushed, enchanted by those silver orbs.

"No.", she felt herself saying before she could think. Hikari blinked, and something under her hood twitched. "You're my friend."

"Even though I'm a Bijou and a Demoness?", she asked, leaning towards Tsukiko.

"It doesn't matter to me; you helped me out more than you can imagine yesterday. You might have saved my entire ninja career.", she added, smiling. A Bijou... what the hell? She knew, of course, what a bijou was, but why the hell would she say she was a demon? "You're too nice to be a demon."

Hikari laughed, though it wasn't quite the divine laugh that she had yesterday.

"I'm a lazy demoness who ignores her instincts, but a demoness nonetheless.", she said, looking into Tsukiko's sapphire eyes. "Are you sure you aren't scared?"

Something twitched under her hood, and Tsukiko furrowed her brow. Tentatively, though Hikari made no move to stop her, she reached forward with both hands and slid the hood back, gasping at the beauty of her long hair. Then she saw the two fox ears that rested on her head in place of normal ears.

"You really are a demon...", Tsukiko whispered, staring at the ears. They were covered in blue fur, the same color as her hair, but had white tips, interiors, and small white tufts of hair in front of them. "But I'm still not leaving.", she finished confidently.

Hikari looked stunned for a moment before she lurched forward and hugged the girl, causing her to blush again. She was suddenly very aware of Hikari's large breasts pressed against her.

"This one thanks you! It's been centuries since a human would talk to me after they learned who I was!", she said happily, letting go and sitting back.

She laid back down with a content smile while Tsukiko fought her blush. Though, the hug had been nice.._. "No, bad thoughts, bad thoughts."_

Once she calmed down, she laid down as well.

"So... a bijou, huh? I thought there were only supposed to be nine.", Tsukiko asked. Hikari shook her head.

"There are multiple Bijou for each rank; Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, and so on up to Kyuubi.", she explained.

"So... what are you?"

Hikari smiled, though Tsukiko didn't see it.

"... I have Nine tails.", she remarked casually.

She liked Tsukiko; she had Kenji's energy with none of his attitude. The best part was, the fox had almost nothing to do with either.

"A Kyuubi...no Kitsune?", she asked, looking at her ears and remembering her words.

"I have nine tails, but I was too lazy to hold the Official Kyuubi rank. Kenji, the Kyuubi you have within you, always said I spent too much time rolling in the grass. Personally I don't care; I like being lazy."

"You didn't seem too lazy yesterday."

"Yes, but I was asleep from the time you left to the time you woke me up. You give me energy; some people just do."

The two laid there though, both smiling at the sky.

"You know...", Tsukiko began, an awkward look on her face. "I should be scared; I should be running. But I'm not.", she admitted.

"I'm glad."

* * *

And there's chapter one. Not bad, right? Not perfect of course, but not bad. This will be my first Yuri story, and the pairing should be pretty damn obvious at this point. Yes, they're both technically Ocs, though I don't think anyone else is.

About Itachi, It was proved that it wasn't Itachi who killed the clan, so he stayed with his Mother(who lived) and Sasuke.

This is really sort of a fluff story instead of a action story; let's see how it goes.

Ja Ne, my Freaky Darlings!


	2. Talking to Bijou

Hello my Yuri-loving Freaking Darlings.

Like I said last chapter, this is supposed to be more of a fluff/Love story more then a combat one like I normally do. Since this is the first story I've ever done like that, and it's my first Yuri story on top of that, it may not be epic. Not to mention it's the first with a female main character.

By the way, I don't know how many of you thought I made Tsukiko too accepting of Hikari. Quite frankly, that's just how some people are. Normally, Tsukiko might not be that way, but she trusts Hikari.

I Do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Ja Ne Kakashi-sensei.", Tsukiko shouted, running off as soon as he said training was over. The girl had been throwing herself into training, though the scarecrow knew that she wasn't doing all her training with the team.

"Ja Ne.", he called back, turning around to see Sakura kneeling by an unconscious Sasuke... for the sixth time this week, let alone this month. The girl, after watching Tsukiko start beating Sasuke with growing ease, had come to the realization that he wasn't a god. Still, She sat beside him and tended to the few wounds he had.

Kakashi had been proud of her when Sakura offered to tend to the one or two scratches Tsukiko had, but she just scratched the back of her head and ran off, saying she had to be somewhere. It was progress though; Even Sasuke seemed to be coming off of his pedestal. Then again, it's very hard to remain on anything but the ground if you get knocked out.

"I wonder if I should be worried about her...", he muttered, looking at her retreating form. She had progressed so much in this month alone that he wondered if she had been holding back; a new style of taijutsu that seemed to get more elegant and refined each day, a strong work ethic(Though she had one before), a certain cheerfulness that never faded and often left her grinning during a spar, and she had been practicing the seals for a fairly high level jutsu, though the name escaped him. THe change had happened over the course of six months total, and Kakashi was proud of the girl.

His biannual report was later this afternoon; he didn't know how much Tsukiko was telling her parents about her training with team 7 and whoever else she was training with, but given the fact that the Yondaime took the team reports personally, he figured they would know what they didn't pretty soon. Kushina often sat with her husband on report days, both to hear about her daughter and to help her husband with a little paperwork while he listened instead of filling it out.

"But what are you doing to improve so much?", Kakashi wondered aloud. Few prodigies could come as far as Tsukiko had in the same amount of time. Then again, it might have been the simple method of finding something that clicked for her; Kakashi was well aware of how either of her parents became when they got on a roll: There was no stopping them. Finding the right sort of teacher might have also helped; Kakashi knew he wasn't perfect.

**(Tsukiko)**

"Hikari-chan, I'm here!", she shouted, running out of the tree rim. Once she was close enough, she saw her friend asleep in the tree, nestled comfortably in the branches. Hikari had told her that the best way to wake her up, since she'd be asleep for the greater part of any day, was to bring an apple with her. When asked why, the Bijou admitted a slight addiction to the fruit, a blush creeping over her mask. As it turned out, the scent did in fact wake her up. Thus, every day for the past six months, she had brought an apple in her weapons pouch so that she could wake the Bijou up.

"Morning, Tsukiko-chan.", Hikari yawned, taking the apple and stretching. She pretended to shine it against her cloak for a moment before turning away. She pulled her mask down and took a bite out of the apple, sharp canines and incisors slicing through it like tissue paper.

Tsukiko, still not overly comfortable with waking the Bijou up from her naps, waited patiently for the kitsune to finish her breakfast out of respect. As she had found out the first few days, it rarely took more than thirty seconds for the whole apple to disappear, core and all.

"So how was your day?", she asked, hopping down from her six foot perch after putting her mask back in place. The wind lifted up her cloak and Tsukiko found herself wondering something yet again.

"I beat Sasuke again, and Kakashi-sensei seems really proud. I...I still haven't told my parents about my progress though.", she admitted, getting a comforting hand on her shoulder from the taller woman. She was reminded once again, however, that Hikari was a foot and three inches taller than her: The melons that the woman tried to pass off as breasts were staring her in the face.

"Is something the matter? This o-... I will listen if you want to talk.", Hikari asked, almost lapsing back to her old speech pattern. She had been better about speaking without the older dialect, but she occasionally slipped up. "Or is there something you wish to ask me?", she added, noting the girl's glances when she moved.

"Well... where are your tails?", Tsukiko asked bluntly, not really knowing how to put it eloquently. Hikari giggled and motioned towards the field where they trained, letting Tsukiko start walking first before walking beside her.

"My clothes are very special; they repair themselves and clean themselves. Combined with using my chakra to burn off any dirt about once a day, I don't have to worry about bathes. That alone makes them useful, but my cloak is extra special.", Hikari explained as they reached the area. She started to stretch with Tsukiko. "It can transform into any type of clothing; I made my mask come from it, and I make sure the hood always hides my ears. However, it can also hide one physical feature of the wearer; I picked my tails, since ears are easier to hide when you're in human society. I probably should have explained this sooner; sorry."

"Can you show me?", Tsukiko asked, wincing when a bone popped back into place. Normally she'd still be stretched out from her team training, but given that Hikari was teaching her a slightly more advanced version now of the style required her to keep stretching.

Put simple, the stretching required for the more elegant version and techniques of the Kaze Mai, or Wind Dance, was sort of painful. Hikari seemed unaffected by the awkward stretches.

"...I... don't want to. Yet.", she said, apologetically. "Maybe soon, but not until I feel comfortable."

"Alright.", Tsukiko agreed, smiling to lighten up the tension. She had to wonder why she was a little nervous about her tails though; part of her wondered if Hikari thought her tails might be ugly. Tsukiko mentally scoffed at the thought; Hikari was beautiful in more ways than one, and the thought of anything ugly on her seemed foolish.

Tsukiko managed to hide the blush that came from that thought, though the seeming loss of control over her own thoughts was starting to bother her. It had happened before, and it was starting to bother her.

They continued until Hikari felt they were limber enough, at which point she took a few steps back until there were a few meters between them.

"Why don't you want to tell your parents?", she asked, taking the relaxed stance she always did.

"I had to lie via omission to my mother the first day we met. I didn't tell my father anything.", she said, waiting for Hikari to begin. "It's just... my dad hates the Bijou, all of them. I know it's because of Kyu- I mean Kenji, but... If he finds out about our training, He'll come here to meet you when I'm off on a mission or something, and he's so tuned to Demonic chakra he'll know what you are in a heartbeat."

Hikari dashed forward and began her usual graceful assault, forcing the girl to concentrate on dodging. The Kaze Mai, or at least the higher lever version, made use of flexibility and fast movement along with a number of jutsu that shifted the user's position; basically anything to dodge by using the least amount of energy possible.

"How did he become attuned? I was aware that Kenji often left impressions on people, but I think it would take more than one demon to do that.", Hikari replied, attempting to sweep Tsukiko's legs out from under her. A quick jutsu left the two switching places; Hikari kicked thin air and Tsukiko whirled around to anticipate her opponent's next move.

"The last war; he fought a jinchuuriki and beat him, but it left him sensitive to demonic chakra. He knew the Kazekage's son was a jinchuuriki the moment he saw him.", Tsukiko explained, rolling to the side as a leg whooshed over her head. "He has to be kinda close; within about thirty to forty feet for Jinchuuriki. I guess if you held it in, so to speak, you might fool him until he got close."

"That makes sense."

They continued for a few more minutes, helping Tsukiko perfect her style. Hikari had told her that everyone tended to add their own flair to it, since it was a simple style, so if she did things a little off, it didn't matter as long as the attack missed and she won in the end.

"So, do you have any potential mates?", Hikari asked suddenly, catching the girl off guard. The leg sweep connected and Tsukiko landed flat on her ass. "Sorry."

The demon helped the girl back up, noticing the blush on her face.

"Mates? As in... Boyfriends or Husbands?", she asked, not sure what the demoness meant. Hikari smiled and brushed off the grass that clung to her friend.

"Boyfriend, girlfriend... It's your choice.", she said, making the younger girl blush. "I suppose the better wording would be "Is there anyone you like in a romantic sense?"."

"O-oh. No, not really.", she said, scratching the back of her head nervously. Where was she going with this?

"Really? Does anyone like you that way?", she asked, genuinely surprised. It caught Tsukiko off-guard.

"Not that I know of. All of the guys either think I'm useless or a psychopath; all the girls are straight, and my mother is homophobic.", she added at the end.

"I find that difficult to believe; With your beauty, you should have suitors all but killing each other for a moment of your time, both male and female.", she said, sounding certain of her words. Tsukiko blushed at the thought, though not really liking the thought of that much attention. She also blushed at the fact that Hikari had called her beautiful, though the first partially hid the second.

"I'm doing just fine the way I am.", she hastily replied. Hikari sighed and smiled.

"I said that a long time ago; these days I think I would like a mate, or maybe even a bitch, but I'm still doing fine as I am I suppose.", Hikari said.

"A...Bitch?", Tsukiko asked, confused. She had heard it used once as a sexual term on top of the most common uses, but she didn't know which she was using. Then again, considering she wasn't human, Hikari might not have been using it in either of those ways.

Hikari blinked, then remembered that Tsukiko didn't have much knowledge on Demonic mating.

"A demon, or demoness in my case, can have a menagerie of mates; think of them being concubines.", she explained, folding her arms and entering lecture mode. "However, any given person, male or female, can only have one Bitch. It's a term of honor to demons, and can apply to either sex; it also has nothing to do with dominance, as it applies to both parties."

"To humans, it's either a female dog or an insult.", Tsukiko deadpanned, wondering how there could be that much of a difference.

"Do you want the whole lecture on mating rituals, or are you content?", Hikari laughed out, slightly amused.

"Not the whole thing... but how would you tell the difference between a mate and a bitch?", Tsukiko asked, actually curious.

"A mate can be anyone; it would be like dating to a human, though there is much more sex. It can end at anytime, and rarely lasts long. It starts fairly randomly; just a spoken word and poof: they're mates. Naming a bitch require something called a Courtship. It's a period of anywhere from a month to several years where the two bring each other gifts and annoy the hell out of each other to "Find their triggers". A bitch also generally displays the mark of their lover to the public.", Hikari finished.

"Mark?"

"If I were to say, make you my bitch...", Hikari said as an example, missing Tsukiko's blush, "Then during our "wedding" night, as you're not allowed to have sex during Courtship, I would bite down on the crook of your neck. In the center of my fang-marks, my name would appear in kanji in my handwriting. Then, you would get behind me and make me your bitch by the same method."

Tsukiko blushed at the wording, and even more at the mental image. _Make me your bitch_... she looked at the word with a new respect, but she felt herself growing slightly aroused.

"S-so... do you have to be mates first? And why can't you have sex?", she asked, failing to end her blush. Hikari led her over to the start of the hill and sat down, motioning for her to sit next to her.

"Most are generally mates, yes. As for the sex... if you wanted sex, get a mate. It also shows your devotion to your mate, as they are allowed to be... provocative; if you jump them, then the Courtship failed and they aren't bound. If you resist until the mating night, you can ravage them all you want for having waited for your bitch. Now then, sex is inserting any connected part of yourself into your mate or vice versa; some kinks that are applied during sex can be preformed without breaking the Courtship as they don't involve the insertion of anything. Things like... spanking, the whole Master and Slave thing, Sadomasochism, ect. From what I understand, making out, as you humans call it, is the only acceptable "insertion" during courtship."

Tsukiko had blushed through the whole thing, though she found herself getting a little wet near the end. She, having an overprotective father and a mother who didn't allow any sort of porn in the house, had never really heard mention of sexual kinks.

"Someone's horny.", Hikari said, smirking as she laid down. She had to admit, Tsukiko had a very pleasant scent normally, but it was mixed in with an unmistakably sweet scent.

"I-i...!", Tsukiko sputtered, unable to defend herself. She had forgotten about Hikari's senses being sensitive.

"Don't worry, it's natural at your age to be interested. I can tell you as much as you want to know... but...", she trailed off, reaching over and cupping Tsukiko's blushing cheek. "I vowed I would only mate with the one who held the title of my Bitch; I don't have one, and I can't help you experiment, alright?", she asked.

"H-hai.", Tsukiko replied, looking away. "What... counts as insertion? I'm just curious.", she added quickly.

"Fingers, penises, strap ons, that sort of thing. Bodily fluids don't count from what I understand; If someone wanted to drink their "Courter's" Blood, Urine, or sexual fluids, they could. It's a matter of taste I suppose. The only other things that are allowed are at the participant's discretion: They could lie in bed together naked so long as there wasn't sex, or they could stay five feet away from each other at all times.", Hikari explained, shrugging.

Tsukiko nodded, taking in the information.

"So... what are your rules?", she asked, intentions innocent.

"Is that an offer of Courtship?", Hikari asked, propping herself up on her elbow and looking over at Tsukiko. She knew it wasn't, but it was funny to see the girl blush and stutter. "Tsukiko-chan, I didn't know you cared so much!"

"I-I, I didn't...!"

"Calm down; I didn't think you were serious.", Hikari cut her off, giggling. Tsukiko huffed and crossed her arms.

"You, Hikari Avaron, are mean.", she said, suddenly finding Hikari's masked face close to hers. She felt heat in her cheeks as she realized there was only an inch between them, and she felt an arm snake around her shoulders.

"My rules, Tsukiko Namikaze, are simple: No suckling my breasts until after Courtship, no urine is to touch me should the other person bear such a desire, Blood and cum are fine though... and my most important rule might scare you away. Do you really want to risk your peace of mind around me? You may never feel comfortable near me again.", Hikari asked, pressing herself gently against the girl. To humans, this was both forward and sexual; to demons, it was perfectly acceptable. If she hadn't already, Tsukiko needed to realize that hanging out with a demoness might result in awkward situations.

"Wh-what is it?", she asked, barely a whisper. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing was shallow. _"Why can't I think straight? Why... What's going on...?"_

"No...boys...allowed.", she said, pulling her mask down and gently kissing Tsukiko's cheek. Her meaning hit her the same time her lips did. She pulled back and let go of her, though she left her mask down. "I'm sorry for that, but you may have to get accustom to such things around me. Demons have different rules and all that..."

Tsukiko barely heard the words over the pounding of her heart, and the warmth in her belly was getting really hard to ignore.

"Th-the kiss? O-or the hug th-thing?", she asked, trying to keep her voice even. Hikari was beautiful; her face was without fat, and had a smooth, soft look to it. Two blue marks rested on her cheeks, one per side, and looked to be triangles that started at the end of her jaw just under her ears, and went towards her nose, though they ended under the center of each eye(Kinda like Sesshoumaru, but only one mark per cheek and a different color). Coupled with her smile that showed her sharp canines and light blue lips...it made her look exotic. She found her mind trying to grasp onto what it might feel like to suck on Hikari's lip while she held it between her teeth.

"The hug; the kiss was an apology for being mean. If you are uncomfortable being near me due to my sexuality, I won't stop you from leaving.", she offered, praying she would stay. She didn't know what it was, but Tsukiko never failed to make her day brighter.

Tsukiko was frozen for a moment, not knowing how to react. She stayed put though, knowing that she wasn't going to ditch one of her best friends just because she was into women... and quite possibly her.

"I'll stay; just give me some warning before the next thing...like that.", she said, scratching the back of her head. "Umm, are we done training for today? I'm a little tired and-"

"We're done for now; you're actually progressing much faster than what I expected. Still, humans can only master it to a degree; it would be proficient to use against just about anyone but high jounins and demons.", she admitted, reaching over and patting the girl on the head. "Good job."

"So... I'll have to find a new style eventually?", Tsukiko replied, worried. She doubted she could find another that suited her so well. Her arousal was fading slowly, but this would take her mind off of it.

"Well, either that or you go bug Kenji to turn you into a demon. Just talk to him and say that Hikari Avaron said you were ready.", she smiled.

"Y-you think... wait, he can do that?", she asked, confused. Hikari chuckled nervously, scratching her cheek with her index finger.

"Well I'd be lying if I said he could do it alone; he needs your permission, and there's probably something you have to do involving the seal. Still, ask him first, and I'll help on this end as much as I can; I'm good with seals.", she smiled, though she caught the look on Tsukiko's face. "You don't have to do this; I'm just saying it takes a kitsune's flexibility and agility to use Kaze Mai against tougher opponents. Think it over; you've got all the time in the world."

Hikari laid back down, moving over a little first to give the girl some thinking room.

Tsukiko didn't know what to think, and part of her wanted to blame the slight wetness between her legs for that.

"What would happen if I did become a demon? What would I have to do to have whatever results occur?", she asked, looking over to the demon. Hikari shrugged.

"You'd have to let me look at your seal and tell me everything the Kenji tells you for me to answer that, Tsukiko-chan. From what I understand, your vest doesn't bend well, and you only wear mesh and a bra under it; I doubt you're comfortable unzipping it for me to see. As for Kenji, you should be asleep when you talk to him, because he can ramble on for hours.", she warned, chuckling at the end. Tsukiko blushed at the thought of revealing that much skin to Hikari after what had just happened, and nodded in agreement. "I can take an educated guess though, on some of the more general things; faster,stronger, better senses and reflexes, and more chakra. I can't tell you how much or what degree of each, but those are guaranteed. Maybe a set of ears that match your hair color and a tail, but like I said before, I won't know until Kenji talks to you and I look at the seal."

"Thanks. Really.", Tsukiko said, smiling. "I... I'll really need to think about it, but it doesn't sound like there's a downside."

"Other than most of human society fearing and hating you just because you're different, there isn't. It's not bad for someone like me, who wanders and generally avoids large human settlement, but you live in one, and your father is anti-demon; you need to consider all repercussions. Still, you have a long time to think.", Hikari replied, pulling her mask back up.

Tsukiko shifted a little to get comfortable while silence filled the valley; suddenly, as Tsukiko had come to expect, Hikari began singing in her beautiful voice. She would tell the girl what song it was if she asked, but she could never remember who wrote the songs.

"Hello tommorow, and goodbye to yesterday," she started, "We've been waiting for this moment, and we still don't know what to say..."

Tsukiko really did love listening to her best friend sing.

**(One Hour later, Namikaze compound)**

"Mom, I'm home!", Tsukiko called, kicking off her sandals and walking into the living room. She didn't expect to get lifted off the ground in a bear hug from her father.

"Haha! I knew ya had it in ya kiddo!", he shouted happily, while Kushina joined in the jovial hug when Minato lowered their daughter a little. Tsukiko, for the life of her, couldn't figure out why she was getting the air squeezed from her lungs.

"Can't... breathe.", she said, getting released a moment later, though Minato proceeded to ruffle his daughter's hair.

"Kakashi told us how much you've improved!", Kushina said from behind her as Tsukiko tried to smooth out her hair.

"Oh... how much did he say?", she asked nervously. Her mother had a bad habit of telling her father things that she didn't want him to know when she got excited, and she sounded very excited right now.

"A new style with a fair deal of mastery that only improves as time goes on, more enthusiasm, you haven't been beaten in a spar for a month, and you've been practicing a high level jutsu!", Minato exclaimed happily. He had always known his daughter was talented, and now it looked like she had found her style of being a kunoichi. "So what jutsu are you practicing?"

"Uhh... um, just... uh...", she said, not really wanting to say the jutsu.

"Come on, you can tell your old man! I'm only gonna be proud of my daughter, come on!", he said, still on a high.

"Yeah Tsukiko-chan, tell us the jutsu; we'll keep it a secret if you think people might be worried or jealous.", she said through a smile. She had mentioned, accidentally, Tsukiko's mysterious friend to her husband, though she had made him promise not to bring it up.

"...*mumble*...", She said, so quiet neither could hear, not looking at either.

"Speak up, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome my daughter is!", Minato joked, smiling. Tsukiko knew he was a good hearted man, but she was in a weird situation. She would probably have tell them a little about Hikari, but she'd leave most of it out. Given her parents... Telling them that she had been kissed by a female Bijou wasn't a bright idea. Mentioning she liked it was even worse.

"Katon...", she started, getting their attention. She inhaled and calmed herself, having a feeling she knew how this was going to go, "... Haisekishou(Burning Ash Accumulation).". She didn't dare tell them about the experimental jutsu she had in mind, or the fact she had copied the seals to the Chidori in sanctuary and was working on the jutsu itself.

"A B ranked fire jutsu; that's some heavy damage right there.", Minato said, surprised. Kushina, while just as surprised, lifted her daughter from the ground and spun her around, laughing happily. "Really, that's some massive damage; I didn't know you had that much chakra."

"It leaves me a little drained; I can only do two before I have to rest.", Tsukiko muttered, managing to escape her mother's grasp. "Even then, I can't really do it again afterwards."

"Who taught it to you? Most people wouldn't consider teaching a B-ranked Katon jutsu to a genin.", Minato questioned, raising an eyebrow.

This was it; she had to think fast or tell them that she was seeing a bijou for training. Then something clicked.

"O-oh, well I...", She started, trying to sound embarrassed. "I went for a walk one day, because Kakashi was late, and I saw a jounin practicing some jutsu. Haisekishou was one of them."

"And they taught you the hand signs?", Kushina asked, finding it somewhat hard to believe.

"Well... not exactly...", Tsukiko replied, somewhat glad she could sound embarrassed this easily, "I left pretty quickly; I was standing practically in the bushes and I didn't want to get hit accidentally. I just... remembered the seals recently and decided to try."

Minato had a feeling that his daughter's mysterious friend was the one who taught her the seals, but a ninja accidentally learning a jutsu by being in the right place at the right time wasn't overly rare. He could have pressed, but he trusted his daughter; even if she was lying, he was pretty sure she'd have a good reason.

"Something smells good...", Tsukiko suddenly remarked, cutting her father off.

"Oh that's right, I made your favorite for dinner since Kakashi said you were doing so well!", Kushina said proudly. Her family had a number of odd and foreign dishes, most of which she couldn't prepare to save her life, but there was one she was good at and Tsukiko was damn near addicted to her lasagna(1).

"Oh awesome!", Tsukiko happily replied as she followed her mother into the kitchen, leaving Minato standing there with a raised brow.

"What has you so worried about me knowing about your friend?", he murmured to himself. Tsukiko was smart enough to stay away from anyone dangerous, so he doubted it was anyone he should really worry about, but ninja senses told him that something was off.

He decided to leave it alone until it became an issue; if her mysterious friend was helping her, there was no need for him to hastily jump into unknown territory. Besides, his wife made excellent food, a plate of which was beckoning him at that very moment.

**(Later)**

Tsukiko had to admit, she was glad Hikari had told her how to alter her mindscape. It had been a little weird to walk in the labyrinth of halls that made up some sort of twisted mansion, and turning it into a large field of wildflowers made things a lot easier.

It also smelled much better, though she felt a little weird walking around in her sleep shorts and a large t-shirt.

That thought was pushed to the back of her mind as she walked towards the sleeping fox, not knowing how this would go. The cage had turned into chains the anchored all four of it's legs to the ground, and a small pedestal in front of it bore the seal paper. Quite frankly, she was pretty sure the fox had slept through the change, given how quick it had happened.

"Kyuubi!", she shouted, trying to wake him up. She stood in front of the pedestal, decently sure it was out of reach; just in case.

The fox didn't stir, and it's even breathing denoted either sleep or great acting skills.

"...Kenji.", she said softly, more of a sigh then words. She jumped when the fox's eyes snapped open; apparently he had been faking it. He lifted his giant head and stared at the young girl before him.

"How do you know my name, Tsukiko?", he asked, great crimson showing confusion. He blinked once and looked around. "And what the fuck happened to the mansion?"

Tsukiko nearly facevaulted; he had actually been asleep, and his name had woken him up. Remembering why she had come here, she steeled herself.

"Kenji, I need to talk to you about... making me a demoness.", she said, trying to sound firm. The bijou stopped looking around and turned his gaze back to Tsukiko, locking eyes.

"Why?", He asked. This whole situation seemed out of the blue; wasn't the chakra he gave her enough? She wasn't really the power-hungry sort to begin with, so what had made her want this... "What makes you think you want to be a demoness?"

"I... I finally found something that works for me but I can only take it so far as a human. I can't stop now.", she replied, holding on to determination. "I just want to know... is it possible?"

"What, pray tell, is this "something", and why do you think that you need to be a demoness to continue?", Kenji pressed, finding this a cross between amusing and odd; he might have been dreaming were it not for the fact there was a distinct difference between his own mind and this place.

"... The Kaze Mai; Hikari Avaron is the one whose teaching me, and she said that only a kitsune can take it to it's full potential.", She said, voice dipping slightly. She didn't know how he would react, and Hikari had only hinted at her history with Kenji.

Kenji's thought process ground to a halt as the words reached him.

"Hikari... Avaron...", He said, almost confused. Tsukiko had to restrain a giggle when he facepawed though. "Goddess strike me down, will I never be rid of that annoyance? I thought becoming the Kyuubi would get me some personal space; NO, she just has to come and fuck with what little reality I have left! Crazy...", he muttered a few things lower than what Tsukiko could hear, but several words reached her.

"Hey, don't talk about her like that!", she shouted, suddenly feeling very angry. Kenji snorted and chuckled.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll castrate you while you sleep.", she replied, eye twitching.

Kenji might not have been able to reproduce anyway, given that he was stuck in a seal, but he was still sort of attached.

"Geez, just as evil as she is too. Alright, what to you want?",he surrendered, trying to keep himself as intact as possible.

"I already told you; what do you know about turning me into a demoness?", she repeated, eye still twitching. He wasn't very easy to talk to, and his general tone of arrogant disinterest left her preferring the days when he didn't talk.

Kenji closed his eyes and seemed to think about it for a moment.

"The seal works in two parts; one to seal my soul and consciousness away, while the other just restrains my chakra and merges it with you.", he remarked, eyes still closed. "Tearing off the top or bottom means we would fuse, and you would become a half demon. However, you'd probably end up with a dick and a twisted and insane version of me for a split personality on top of going insane yourself, considering that we're different genders. I've been close to your soul for sixteen years and trust me, that isn't what either of us want."

"Yeah... that's pretty high up on the "Bad" list.", she remarked.

"Have you let Hikari look at the seal? The external properties could hold a few secrets as well, because I doubt it looks the same as that little piece of paper over there.", he said, starting to get into it. It was a puzzle; he loved puzzles.

"No, and I won't be able to see her until tomorrow afternoon.", she replied, looking down at the seal. "So... is there a way? Y'know, without the gender and mind twisting?"

"I need to know how the seal is designed; symmetry and aesthetics might make it look pretty, but they have a severe impact on how a seal works. As much as I hate to say it, Hikari is better with seals than I am; though considering how much she favors her smaller form, and how much easier it is to read and draw in that form, I'm not too shocked.", he muttered.

"Couldn't I just life up my shirt a little?", Tsukiko asked, already doing so. She wasn't going to take it too high, but she was shocked to find the seal gone from her stomach.

"The seal is on your body's stomach; that's it's physical representation. The paper is it's Soul or Mental representation, hence why it isn't on your body, and it's also why it's different from the one on your body.", Kenji drolled out, trying to think.

"What do you think?"

"About your chances? It depends. I need to know what Hikari says about the seal.", he replied. "I know it works in halves, both of which are represented by the paper over there. The physical seal will have to be what we study, but in the end we'd have to tear half of that seal off. If we get the half that binds my soul, then I get to go back to the reincarnation wheel a little early, and my chakra remains to turn you into a demoness. Mind you, it'll rush into you all at once and hurt like a bitch, more than likely making you a bijou through sheer chakra amount."

"Just like that?", she asked, not believing it would be that simple.

"Considering how fucked up _I'd_ be if this went wrong, I'm not gonna lie: you're whole body will be out of whack for a few days. New senses, new chakra, new appendages, it-

"Hang on, appendages? What are we talking about here?"

"Tails you stupid girl; given that it's fox chakra, you'll be a kitsune.", he quickly replied, trying to keep his train of thought. An errant though killed that idea though. "I don't know what will happen beyond that; I doubt your gender would change, but that much male chakra might screw with your hormones for a while. It should become "neutral" after I leave, but I don't know if it would happen fast enough to accept your chakra as a template to become female."

"W-worst case scenario?", Tsukiko asked, somewhat worried.

"Worst case?... I suppose you'd die from chakra influx. That's the worst thing I can think of.", he remarked. "Now then, your body will be out of whack and off balance for a while after the transformation. Hikari can probably help you there, but you'd need an excuse to take a week off."

"A week?"

This was starting to look troublesome. The payoff was seeming more and more uncertain while the risks became more prevalent.

"Roughly. If we do it right, your body will adjust in two days or so; your mind is what will take a week.", he explained, resting his head on his paws. "Changing species won't be easy on you, regardless of how easy the actual procedure might be."

"Why are you making it sound like I'm getting a sex change?"

"Because you're changing your fucking species! Did you not hear me the first time? You've been a human for sixteen years so tell me something, how do you operate a fox tail?", he asked, letting her confused look speak for itself. "You're going to have an entirely new set of muscles and limbs, not to mention a massive amount of new chakra; your brain is going to go nuts for a little while because it doesn't know what to do with all the new information."

Tsukiko sighed and nodded, wondering if this was even remotely smart. At the same time, the alternative was to try and find a new style while using a half-finished one against opponents that might be immensely stronger than her. She could, quite easily, imagine herself dying.

On the other hand, looking into this meant she could finish the Kaze Mai and become a Bijou; with that much chakra and the Kaze Mai, she'd never have to worry again. She'd be brain-dead for a few days, but she'd hopefully recover and think of a way to hide it or explain it to her family.

Wait... Hikari's cloak could hide Physical attributes. She'd have to think of something to hide the new chakra from her father, but it was a start. She hoped the kitsune had more of the cloth somewhere.

"Get Hikari to look at the seal when you get a chance, and summon me with your thoughts so I can hear what she's saying.", Kenji said, snapping Tsukiko from her thoughts.

"I can do that?", she asked, surprised.

"It'll take most of your concentration, so you'd probably be laying down while Hikari inspects the seal and I listen. You'll have to tell her what I say, but otherwise you should concentrate on keeping me in your ears; one missed word and bad shit could happen.", he warned.

"Hai."

"Oh, and just out of curiosity, how many tails does Hikari have? It's been a while you see.", He casually asked, though Tsukiko could tell he already knew, which meant he wanted to see if she knew.

"Nine.", she answered firmly.

"Yes she does have nine tails. Did she happen to mention the tenth one as well, or did she just say "I have nine tails?".", Kenji asked, amused by the confused look on Tsukiko's face.

"Tenth?", she asked, unsure. She had never heard of a ten tailed being before.

"Figures; typical Hikari. Go, I need to think about this damned seal so I can leave as soon as possible.", he muttered, closing his eyes and ignoring his container.

Tsukiko felt herself leaving her mindscape and drifting off into her dreams; they were just as confusing as her thoughts.

Part of her was hurting as Hikari danced around her dream, spinning and twirling in the sanctuary. Tsukiko couldn't move for some reason, and she wondered if thats why she was hurting.

"You can dance with me, you just have to stand up.", Another Hikari said, lying next to her as the sky shifted colors chaotically. She managed to see that the Hikari beside her had her mask and cloak on, but the dancing one...

Her beautiful smile was open for the world... no... just Tsukiko to see, and a mass of fox tails trailed behind her, though the dancing made it impossible for Tsukiko to count.

"Come on Tsuki-chan, get up and dance with me!", the dancing Hikari called as the one beside Tsukiko went to sleep. The trees of the valley were shaking and twisting in time with Hikari's silent song, and everything seemed to shift so chaotically it made her head spin.

Then, for a single moment, everything was clear. There was no noise other than Hikari's laughter as they danced, and Tsukiko saw purple fur weaving within Hikari's ocean blue tails.

For a single moment, Tsukiko was a demoness.

* * *

And there's the end of Chapter two. I was up late finishing this, so sorry if there were any errors near the end.

1: I'm not familiar with many Japanese dishes or how they taste. Lasagna would be both foreign/rare, and It's tasty... so yeah. It's a small inconsistency in terms of time/space, but one I felt I should take care of.

If I get a good response, I'll continue this story. Between Aria of the Moonless Night and the other whims I've been getting for working on my stories, I decided that this would be a nice break. No real fighting, and I can practice my "romantic" writing. There will be a few fights, of course, but I'm going to try and stick to romance and Character development.

If you have any questions, ask me and I'll try and answer. Just remember this is the first time I've done a fic like this so be gentle. I'm stepping outside my normal sphere and trying something new.


	3. Turning Gears

Here's chapter three, I hope you enjoy it, my Freaky Darlings!

A quick note, A few more characters get some screen-time next chapter. This chapter it's really nothing new in terms of characters.

Also, I kept listening to Bad Apple! while writing this. I love that song, though I don't know if it'll help when you read this.

Chapter Three: Turning Gears

PS: this is about a week after the last chapter. Tsukiko kept forgetting to take a shirt to Sanctuary for Hikari to look at her seal.

* * *

"Well that sucks.", Tsukiko muttered as the messanger walked off, leaving team seven to their own devices. He had informed them that Kakashi would be gone for a few more days due to complications on the new mission that he had recieved. It was understandable, but it still left them a little annoyed that their sensei was being delayed. Weren't Sensei's supposed to be exempt from missions anyway?

"Well... we can still train together, right?", Sakura offered, trying to sound optimistic. Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah, that's going to make me _much_ stronger.", he remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm as he turned and walked off, leaving the two girls there.

Sakura sighed and hung her head a little, feeling slightly rejected. She had been trying to take being a Kunoichi seriously, but part of her still loved Sasuke and it hurt her when he did things like that. She really wished she was more like Tsukiko at times; driven, and seemingly unable to give up.

"Sakura... wait here.", Tsukiko said calmly, half-glaring at the Uchiha in the distance.

"Are you leaving too?", Sakura asked, sounding slightly more offended than what she had meant. Tsukiko looked over with apologetic eyes.

"Yeah, but I'll be back. I just need to have a small talk with Sasuke. This power thing has got to stop, or he at least has to give us a good reason to put up with it.", She replied, getting a hesitant nod from Sakura. "Alright, I'll be back soon."

With that, Tsukiko turned and took off after the Uchiha, intent on putting foot to ass if so required. Sakura watched her go, suddenly wondering if the people she called her teammates were really her friends.

It took a few minutes to catch up with Sasuke, given that he was "dashing" through the trees, but Tsukiko managed just fine at the leisurely pace he was going.

"Sasuke, stop.", she said firmly, "We need to talk."

"And why would I want to do that?", he asked, not even looking over. Before he knew what was happening, he felt a heavy impact from his left as Tsukiko tackled him. His ass hit the dirt as Tsukiko righted herself, placing her hands on her hips and glaring down at the Uchiha. "What the Hell was that for?"

"I told you, we need to talk. For some reason though, you don't like to listen unless someone puts a boot to your ass.", Tsukiko snapped, cutting off the Uchiha's next comment. "You constantly bitch and moan about Sakura and I holding you back, or not being able to get enough power from doing something, on top of constantly talking down to us. We're a team, and if Sakura and I are going to have to put up with this, you had better give us a good damn reason to!"

The Uchiha glared back, not liking the position he was in. He stood up and brushed himself off.

"Why should I explain myself to you? You won't understand.", he scoffed.

"Maybe I'm not understanding because you're not saying anything.", Tsukiko shot back, making the Uchiha flinch at the harsh tone. She took a breath and tried to calm herself. "Sasuke, you need to talk to me. Why is power so important to you?"

It seemed like he was about to offer some witty rebuke, but he stopped himself. He took a breath and refused to look her in the eyes as he collected his thoughts.

"...What do you know about the Uchiha Massacre?", he asked, still not looking up.

"I remember my father complaining about it when I was little. I was really young though, so he didn't tell me anything when I asked. A few years later I looked into it... but it's classified. Apparently being the Hokage's daughter only gets you kind greetings and smiles.", she offered, trying a half-hearted chuckle at the end.

Sasuke didn't seem to appreciate the joke.

"In one night, my entire clan was wiped out, save for my Mother and I... and whoever did it looked like Itachi. He used a genjutsu on me to make me witness the deaths of my family over and over, and he kept repeating that he was going to kill my mother in front of me after that.", he said, almost with emotion, "The only reason he didn't was because Itachi came in, the real Itachi, and stopped him. He... he got away."

Tsukiko saw the boy's hands tighten into fists at his sides as he relived the memory. She felt a pang of guilt from having made him dredge it up, but this was necessary.

"One week... that's all the effort they put into finding the murderer...", he whispered, voice cracking in anger. "Itachi... Itachi refused to join the search. He said that he was too concerned with staying home to protect us to go after the man. It... it didn't make sense to me... why live worrying when he could have just found him and killed him... we could have lived in peace then..."

"Sasuke...", Tsukiko muttered, too low for the Uchiha to hear.

"So... I decided that if Itachi refused to avenge our family... I would. I have to become strong... so that I can kill the bastard that did this to us.", he declared firmly, finally looking up into Tsukiko's eyes, letting her see the angry flames that resided in his sharingan. "That's why I must gain power, That's why I can't afford to be held back; I need to kill this man and end it."

"But it won't end.", Tsukiko said softly, breaking Sasuke's flames.

"W-what?", he asked, unsure of what she had just said to him. "Did you not hear me, this man killed my family; the only way to end this is to kill him!"

"And if you kill him, what will _his_ family do?", she shouted back, shutting the boy up. "I don't know what started this, and I'm not going to pretend to... But he killed your family. If you kill him, his family doesn't see you as an avenger of justice... they see you as a murderer. They'd send someone else to kill you, or what's left of your family. Either Itachi or Konaha as a whole would respond, and a war starts...", she finished softly. "I know... you won't believe me when I say this... but there's a difference between what is right and what is easy, and you're trying to do what is easy. You're hating him with all your heart, hoping that it'll close the wounds he left. You're telling yourself it's justice... it's not."

"Then what am I supposed to-"

"Stop the cycle of "justice". Don't grow strong to hurt him... grow strong to stop him from hurting others.", Tsukiko cut him off.

"That's nothing but bullshit from fairytails; in the real world, there is no "forgive and forget".", he spat back.

"Maybe it is... but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm not telling you to forgive, and I'm not telling you to forget... I'm telling you to stop yourself from becoming a murderer.", she replied softly, stepping forward and hugging the boy before he had a chance to react.

Sasuke, for the life of him, didn't know how to respond to the contact he was receiving.

"Sasuke... Sakura and I care about you; for all the shit you give us, for all the shit you put us through, we care about you. If you keep walking on this path, you're going to kill more than just your clan's murderer.", she said softly, squeezing the slightly taller boy.

She let go and started walking away, though she stopped after a few feet.

"Alright, I promised Sakura I would come back to train with her. Oh, and Sasuke...", she trailed off, looking over her shoulder. Sasuke could see her eyes were wet, and a wet trail stained her face. "Tell anyone that I hugged you, and you're dead. Don't go getting any ideas either. I'm not one of your fan-girls."

Sasuke watched as she walked away, feeling confused. He felt his Sharingan deactivate as the Tsukiko faded into the foliage.

"Why was she crying? Was it... for me?", he asked, voice below a whisper. He felt as though the foundations of his world had been shaken, and he almost felt sick. He looked down at his hands, and began wondering out loud... "What is easy... and what is right..."

**(With Tsukiko)**

"Did you get a chance to talk to Sasuke?", Sakura asked as Tsukiko walked back into the training field. She was actually elated that the girl had come back. She hopped off the training post she had been sitting on when the girl neared.

"Yeah... yeah I did.", she replied, glad she had dried her face on the way back. Sakura caught her tone though.

"What's wrong?"

"Sasuke... I guess he has reasons to be the way he is... but _his_ reason is wrong.", she sighed, folding her arms. "It's something he has to sort out; if you want to know what I said, you should ask him. It's sorta personal to him, y'know?"

Sakura nodded, though it fell to a sort of awkward silence after that.

"So... should we spar? You and I haven't had much of a chance to recently.", Tsukiko offered, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"I... I'm not sure. If you can beat Sasuke, you'll have me beaten in no time...", Sakura meekly replied. She was surprised when Tsukiko glared at her.

"Don't say stuff like that!", she chastised, "Just because I can beat Sasuke doesn't mean I can beat you easily; you fight differently, and I might not be able to beat you. The only way you're gonna beat me is if you stop thinking so pessimistically though! Come on, let's spar.". It was a weak defense, mainly because she knew she could beat Sakura easily, but she didn't feel like seeing Sakura so down.

Tsukiko led Sakura over to the open part of the field and walked to the far side so there was about twenty feet between them.

"No jutsu or weapons?", Tsukiko asked, getting a hesitant nod from Sakura. In all truth, she was scared to death of this; Tsukiko's fighting style was great, and she didn't need any jutsu other than kawarimi and she needed no weapons. It put Sakura at a disadvantage right away, since she was using the Academy's basic style.

Knowing that Tsukiko's style was a defensive one, Sakura made the first move. It was a straight-forward charge, but without any jutsu or weapons she felt like it was the only method. She opened with the straight jab, which Tsukiko dodged with a sour look on her face.

"Sakura, you need to relax.", she remarked as she avoided the next punch. "I'm not trying to kill you here; let's just talk while we go at a relaxed pace."

"We can... do that?", Sakura asked, experimentally throwing a calmer punch. Tsukiko was equally calm in avoiding it as she nodded.

"Yeah, I do it all the time with... a friend of mine.", she corrected herself, having almost said Hikari.

"Oh.", was the only reply she got from Sakura as they continued. After a few minutes they finally had a sort of rhythm down; Sakura was getting a little tired, and none of her punches or kicks had landed, but she was having fun. Tsukiko didn't make the spar seem like a life or death fight; it was more to keep them both moving than to hone their skills, but it didn't feel like slacking.

"You know, this is a pretty silent conversation.", Tsukiko laughed, casually avoiding a kick as she maneuvered Sakura around; not using kawarimi meant she had to carefully dodge in a way that made Sakura turn as well. So far they had been going in a large figure eight.

"Sorry...", Sakura apologized, thoughts somewhat chaotic. She had a number of things to think about recently, like having patched things up with Ino or whether or not Tsukiko was really... "Tsukiko... am I your friend?", she asked, catching the red-head off-guard.

"Of course; you've been much more bearable recently, but you've always been my friend. Why?", she asked, wondering if this had to do with all the thinking that her friend had been doing recently. Tsukiko knew Sakura was trying to take being a kunoichi seriously, but it might have made her over-analyze things like her friendships.

"It's just... I've just had a lot on my mind lately, and one thought led to another worry. Don't worry about it.", Sakura said, trying to focus on the fight.

"You're my friend; I'm supposed to worry about it.", Tsukiko reminded her, making the girl mis-step and fall. Moving quickly, Tsukiko caught her before she hit the ground, though she doubted the catch was overly pleasant.

"Thanks... for everything.", Sakura quietly said as Tsukiko righted her. An idea popped into her head though, as she thought about Tsukiko calling her a friend. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course; what's up?", Tsukiko asked, taking a step back to give her some space. Sakura seemed a little nervous as it was; having Tsukiko in her "bubble" might not have helped.

"Well... how do you feel about things like sleep-overs and slumber parties?", she asked, half-blushing.

"Me? I've never done either.", Tsukiko responded honestly. "I... don't know. I can't say I don't like them if I've never been to one."

"Well... Ino and I patched things up recently... and she and I were thinking of having a small slumber-party with some friends at her house. We've been talking about it for a few days, and so far Hinata's the only one to accept the offer. Would you... like to come? I understand if it's not your thing-"

"No, it's alright.", Tsukiko interrupted, cutting Sakura's half-apology off. "I... let me think about it, okay? And are you sure this would be alright with Ino? She wasn't overly fond on me the last time I checked.", Tsukiko reminded her. Sakura flushed.

"Umm... I don't know how to put this but... well, you somehow managed to only talk to her during her period. She can get pretty bitchy with a short fuse; she actually doesn't mind you, you just had really bad timing...", she explained, flushed. Tsukiko sweatdropped.

"You're... kidding, right? Every time?", she asked, getting a nod. "Wow, that is bad timing."

"She told me to ask my friends and see if anyone else wanted to come, and you're a friend so...", she trailed off, leaving it to common sense. "Is there anyone you might invite?"

"Well... Ayame Ichiraku; this sounds like her kinda thing. She's a civilian, and a few years older than us, is that cool?", she asked. In all truth, she had no idea how this sort of thing went, so having Ayame there to make sure she didn't do anything stupid was a good idea. Besides, it had been awhile since she had spoken to Ayame.

"Yeah, that's fine. We were planning on the sleepover being tomorrow night actually, since all of our senseis were going to give us this weekend off, and it doesn't happen often, so we were going to take advantage of the opportunity."

"Alright; I'll swing by Ayame's place and ask her if she wants to come.", Tsukiko responded, smiling; this sounded like fun.

"So you're coming then?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks; you can go ask her now if you want, we've sparred long enough.", Sakura offered.

"Alright; I need to clear it with my parents anyway. Ja Ne, Sakura-chan!", Tsukiko said as she turned and ran off, intent on finding Ayame and getting home. If she moved fast enough, she could get to Sanctuary and let Hikari inspect the seal. She hadn't gotten the chance to recently.

"Ayame should be at the ramen stand.", Tsukiko muttered as she ran, trying to manage a chaotic time-table in her head. If she went to the sleep over, she'd still have the rest of the weekend to herself; if the inspection went well, she might be able to start the transformation. She'd have to say something along the lines of practicing wilderness survival or something that would get her a week alone at Sanctuary.

Kakashi probably wouldn't mind, as long as it was something practical like making sure she could properly function "in the field", and if she said she'd be in Sanctuary, then her parents probably wouldn't mind. She doubted they had forgotten about Hikari being there though, even though they really didn't know anything about her, so she'd need a decent backstory that put Hikari away from Sanctuary for a few days. A sick relative? No, then it might seem weird if she mentioned Hikari being back too soon. A "former ninja", like she had portrayed Hikari as being, taking a random walk and coming back a few days later was somewhat of a stretch too.

"Fabricating false realities is hard.", she complained as she came to a stop in front of the stand. After taking a moment to compose herself, she stepped in.

"Hey Tsukiko-chan, haven't seen you in a while.", Teuchi greeted as he placed a bowl in front of another customer. "Don't tell me you've found a better place to eat."

"No, I've just been really busy lately.", Tsukiko replied, actually surprised at how long it had been since she had come here. "Is Ayame here? I need to talk to her."

"Not today; she called in and said she was feeling sick, so she stayed at her home today. You can go see her if you want.", he said, turning back to the noodles. Tsukiko almost sweatdropped at his tone; he had been a little upset when his daughter moved out a year prior, and he was apparently still having trouble with accepting it.

"Right... have fun with the noodles.", Tsukiko deadpanned, turning and walking out before Teuchi could reply.

She could have been a little more delicate about it, but she really wanted to get to Sanctuary soon. Luckily she knew that Ayame's house was close by, though she still hurried. The more she waited, the more she realized she had questions for Hikari that couldn't wait.

Like why she had lied about her tails.

Had she been scared of what Tsukiko would have done? It made some sense, she supposed, to want to hide an extra tail; what the Kyuubi could do in comparison to the Hachibi was frightening, so a Juubi was a scary thought. Then again, Kenji could have been lying. The only reason she had put off asking the blue haired Bijou was because she wasn't sure Kenji had been telling the truth. Now... she needed to know.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she arrived at Ayame's doorstep. It was a small apartment, but it suited the waitress perfectly.

"Ayame, are you home?", Tsukiko called, knocking on the door. She heard a muffled thump on the other side of the door followed by a few muffled curses before feet came thumping towards the door.

"Hey Tsukiko.", Ayame greeted after opening the door, though she kept it only open enough for her head to stick out. "What's up?"

"Just had a quick question for you...", she replied, looking at the girl's disheveled hair. "Two actually."

"Really? What do you need?"

"Well... I was invited to a sleep-over slash slumber-party thing, and I've never really done anything like that before. I was wondering if you'd like to go too, y'know, to keep my ass out of the fire or something?", Tsukiko offered. "It looks like it's going to be nothing but kunoichi, unless you go. Still, there won't be many people."

"Actually that sounds great; when is it?", she asked, still keeping the door mostly shut.

"Tomorrow night, at the Yamanaka house; it's right next to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, you know where that is right?", Tsukiko asked, half wondering if her friend was in the middle of... intimate relations... when she had knocked.

"I do; I should be able to go too.", Ayame confirmed, smiling. "It's been awhile since we've done anything together; it'll be nice. So, what was your other question?"

"Why is your hair messed up, and why are you hiding behind the door?", Tsukiko asked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. "And are you hiding anyone else behind the door?"

"I'm not!", Ayame defended herself, though in the face of Tsukiko's skeptical look, it faded quickly. "Alright... I might have someone in here with me..."

"Itachi will be thrilled.", Tsukiko sighed, facepalming.

"I am!", a voice called from behind Ayame, causing the girl to flush while Tsukiko had a dumbstruck look on her face.

"Wow. Just wow.", she responded, not knowing how to respond. "I... have no response for that. Really, the only thing coming to mind is "Don't let him knock you up."."

"W-we weren't doing that!", she half-shouted, turning even redder. "And at least _I have _a boyfriend now."

Tsukiko looked almost hurt for a moment, but she recovered and laughed.

"You can keep Itachi; I don't want a boyfriend.", she replied, trying desperately to fend off Hikari's image as she said that. She was surprised when Ayame's face softened for a moment.

"Tsukiko-chan, you shouldn't stay alone forever. You need to find someone to lean on, or you're just going to end up falling down.", she softly said. Tsukiko kept her arms folded and looked away.

"Tomorrow; be there at eight-ish. Later.", Tsukiko replied after a moment, turning and walking away. Ayame watched her walk away until she rounded the corner, at which point she pulled her head back inside and shut the door. She felt Itachi's arms wrap around her middle as the Uchiha hugged her from behind.

"What's wrong?", he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder as she leaned back into him.

"I think she's crushing on someone, and having a really hard time accepting it.", she sighed. "At least that's what I think; it might be nothing."

"I can ask Sasuke if she's been acting weird lately, though I'm likely to get a lecture about how she's holding him back.", he groaned, not wanting to go home and deal with his brother's emo rants. Why do that when he could stay with Ayame...

"Try to be subtle about it; if she knows we're looking into her love life, even if there isn't a problem, I doubt it will end well.", Ayame warned, turning her head and kissing Itachi's cheek. They had only been together for a few days, but they had been friends since childhood.

"Alright, though I normally only take missions from the Hokage... I'll make an exception this time. I might have to ask for extra pay though...", he replied, kissing her neck.

"Itachi-kun... do you see the lack of ring on my finger...?", she asked, holding her hand up. They had been over this before... three minutes ago. "No sex until after marriage; that's my rule."

"I just was going to ask you to cook dinner, pervert."

He could dodge enemy jutsu with the skill many dreamed of, but he could never seem to dodge Ayame's "Head-whack of doom", as he had started calling it years ago.

**(Namikaze compound, thirty minutes later)**

"Sounds good to me.", Kushina agreed, knowing that her daughter needed to get out a little more. Lately it had been nothing but training, going to Sanctuary, and coming straight home. It seemed a bit girly for Tsukiko, but it was still a nice idea.

"Thanks. There is one thing though...", Tsukiko got ready to suggest her "survival trip", hoping that her mother would see the logic. "After that, I was thinking of heading up to Sanctuary for a few days; y'know, wilderness survival and all that. I haven't really done anything like that since the trip to Wave, and I don't want to forget how to function away from home."

It was the best she could do, so all she could do was hope. Kushina seemed to think about it for a moment.

"Define a few days."

"Close to a week.", she weakly replied.

"...Sanctuary, and nowhere else?", Kushina asked, getting a nod. "Well... I don't know if I like the idea of you being gone that long... but I guess you have a good reason for doing it. Still... I'd like to check up on you every now and then."

And there was the obligatory monkey wrench.

"Well it's not really going to be solo survival if you're checking on me, y'know?", she offered, not sounding overly confident.

"True... let me talk to your father about this. If you do go, trap the entrance. Is that alright?", Kushina asked.

"Yeah; I was going to anyway. Better safe than sorry, right?", she asked, getting a nod and a hug.

"That's my girl. Alright, I won't keep you any longer. By the way, what's this "important task" that's whisking you away from me?"

"Oh, a friend and I need to have a little heart to heart chat. That, and I need to sort a few things out with her; I don't know what's true and what's a lie, but I need to find out.", Tsukiko said honestly, getting a nod from her mother.

"Alright; Dinner's at eight, try not to be late.", Kushina warned, motioning to the clock. Tsukiko had five hours, but still.

Tsukiko nodded and walked off, heading towards her room. She needed to get a normal shirt so that Hikari could look at the seal; she figured that she would change in the cave that led into Sanctuary. Upon entering, she was hit by the scent of her favorite insence, and shut the door quickly to keep the smell inside.

She walked over to her dresser and pulled a large white t-shirt out, deciding that it was as good at anything. She shut the drawer and look at the few items that sat on top of the dresser. One was her team picture, another was a picture of her standing with her Mother and Father in front of the Hokage Monument; she giggled softly at the stupid face her father was making. Beside that picture sat a small lump of silver that Minato had found on a mission and given to her when she was younger. Most of her other possessions were either on her desk or in it.

"Alright, time to go.", she muttered, putting the shirt under one arm. The trip down memory lane had been fun, but she had things to do.

The run to Sanctuary was a quick one, and she found herself in the enterance cave quicker than what she had expected. It was roughly three hundred feet long, fairly wide, and winding. She made sure she was close enough to the opening that lead to Sanctuary to have some light, but far enough away to have some privacy before she unzipped her vest and took off the mesh under shirt.

Part of her wondered how it would feel to have Hikari walk in on her changing; how arousing it would be to get caught shirtless by the demoness. She stifled the thought and put the t-shirt on, folding the mesh up and stuffing it into her vest, which she held under her arm as she exited the cave.

She swore when she realized she had forgotten an apple, but Hikari's singing reached her ears when she neared, meaning they wouldn't lose any time to Hikari waking up.

"...Vi sitter har i venten och spelar lite DotA, a springer runt a creepar, och motstandet vi sleepar... Oh, hello Tsukiko-chan, how are you today?", she asked when she heard the girl approaching. She turned and looked at her friend, raising a brow at the t-shirt she was in. Hikari had her mask on, but her hood was down. She was sitting on the slope of the hill as Tsukiko came to a halt beside her.

"I'm fine; what were you singing? I've never heard that language before.", Tsukiko replied, though she did like the sound of it.

"Oh just something I picked up a long time ago.", was the happy reply as she waved it off. "Why are you in a t-shirt though?"

"I... I talked to Kenji again last night; he needs you to look at the external seal as soon as possible. He told me to concentrate on letting him use my ears so he could hear you, but I'll have to speak for him.", she returned, unsure of her questions at the moment.

"But that's not all... something else is bothering you. Are you alright?". The concern in Hikari's voice caught Tsukiko off-guard. She almost nodded, but she stopped herself.

"...Hikari-chan... how many tails do you have, really?", she asked slowly, judging Hikari's reaction in her eyes. The kitsune flinched visibly, and sighed, looking away a moment afterwards.

"You've spoken with Kenji about more than the seal I see.", she said, almost lamenting.

"Hikari... I'm not scared, and I'm not upset...", Tsukiko said softly, making the bijou look back up at her. She was surprised to see her eyes looking damp. "I know why you said what you did."

"Then... why..."

"...I don't want you to lie to me anymore. You're really important to me, and I don't like it when my precious people lie to me."

Hikari stood up and walked over to Tsukiko in what looked like a single fluid step. She felt arms encircling her before she knew what was going on, and the pressure from the hug sent her head directly into Hikari's ample chest. A rich scent that she had never experienced struck her nose as the taller woman embraced her; it made it really hard to think or focus, though she managed to turn her head and rest her cheek on her chest instead. It helped clear her head a little, at least enough to drop her vest and return the hug.

"I promise, no more lies.", she heard Hikari whisper, voice almost cracking. She imagined the fox-lady crying, and her mind locked onto the image of her kissing the tears to wipe them away; she could almost taste the salt. "Kenji didn't lie; I am the Juubi no Kitsune, Hikari Avaron.", she added, a little more firmly. She giggled a little at the end though, "And that fact has annoyed him beyond all mortal recognition."

She pulled back, and Tsukiko felt almost empty without the contact or that earthy scent that had filled her head. She bit her tongue to snap herself out of it, having come here for a reason.

"Can you look at the seal now? I have until eight; given how long it took to get here, I'm going to say we have four hours, since I need to get back before then.", Tsukiko said, blushing as her voice almost cracked; had the scent really had that much of an effect on her?

"Yes, that's plenty of time. Are you ticklish? I'm going to be poking it and tracing lines, and I'd like some forewarning if your going to be wiggling around under my fingers.", Hikari asked, drying her eyes. Tsukiko was slightly surprised that she had actually been crying for a moment, and she tried not to think that it was her acceptance of her that caused it.

The thought of Hikari's fingers on her bare flesh sent a spark through Tsukiko that sent her mind to pieces for a moment, though she shook it off quickly.

"A little, but not on my stomach.", she replied, "Do you want me to lay down?"

"Yes, and reach out to Kenji with your mind, and make sure you let me know when he's using your ears."

With that, Tsukiko went over to the hill and laid down, lifting up her shirt to show her midriff and the seal. She cleared her mind as Hikari sat down beside her, trying to reach out to Kenji.

"_Kenji?"_, she tentatively asked.

"_No, it's the boogeyman."_, was the curt reply. _"Just concentrate on me and I'll be able to use your ears."_

"Alright.", Tsukiko said, nodding at Hikari.

"Let's see...General pattern is symmetrical, though there are inconsistencies with either side, not to mention the spiral...", Hikari began, tracing the marks she spoke of.

Tsukiko did her best to keep up with what Kenji was saying while still keeping him in her ears as Hikari's fingers danced along her skin. The level of intimacy that Hikari seemed to have with the structure of seals was beyond what even her father knew, and she was glad she only had to say what Kenji did, and not understand it.

It continued for roughly two hours, at which point she asked Tsukiko to force some chakra into the area. She did, and Hikari studied the result, which left Tsukiko wondering if demonic eyes could see things that human eyes couldn't. When she asked Kenji to release some of his chakra, she confirmed the theory.

"Alright, that's enough. You can put your shirt down Tsukiko.", Hikari finally said after another hour of study.

"So what's the diagnosis; can I change?", she asked, biting her lip.

"It's design is a little bass akwards, but yes. In your mindscape, you have to tear the seal in half from the upper left corner to the lower right corner, and remove only the right half. Be careful though, the left half cannot come off of whatever it's bound to, not even a fraction of an inch. Bad things might happen if it does. I'd recommend summoning a kunai or a knife in your mindscape and using that to make a clean cut before removing the right half.", Hikari instructed.

"That easy?", Tsukiko asked in return, almost not believing it. Hikari sighed.

"Yes, but afterwards it won't be. Between the mental and physical adjustments it would take three days for you to be able to function, and a full week for you to function like a kunoichi. Even then...", Hikari trailed off, looking Tsukiko in the eyes. "There's no going back you know. Once you do this... you're a demoness till death, which could be a very, very long time from now. I'm not trying to scare you, but you're going to have to watch friends age and die, if they're human anyway. Demons... not so much."

Tsukiko nodded and sat up, suddenly feeling the weight of this decision.

"I might be able to get a week off after tomorrow.", Tsukiko offered. Hikari nodded.

"What happens tomorrow?", she asked, curious.

"I... some friends invited me to a slumber-party; I don't know if you know what that is.", Tsukiko explained, continuing when Hikari shook her head. "A bunch of friends, usually girls, get together and just... well, they have fun at one of their houses, and then they go to sleep.". It was sort of embarassing to talk about for some reason, but Hikari nodded again.

"If you're serious about becoming a demoness, go to it. Savor your time as a human.", Hikari advised. "You should head on home and think about it."

"Hikari... do you not want me to do this?", Tsukiko asked. Hikari had a suddenly very torn look in her eyes as she pulled down her mask. She leaned over and gently kissed Tsukiko's forehead.

"Tsukiko-chan... I want you to be happy, and you won't be happy if you're dead... but I don't want you to be unhappy being alive. If you stay here while you're thinking about it, it may make you biased. Just... think about both sides, please.", Hikari asked of her, leaving her mask down.

"Can... can I ask you something then, just in case I do decided to become a demoness?", she asked, trying not to sound like she was standing too far on one side of the arguement. "I'd need a way to hide my tails and ears; do you have any more of the cloth your cloak is made of?"

Hikari nodded.

"Yes; I can control it's regeneration, and cut a few pieces out to make you some bracelets. You'll need four.", she explained, getting a raised brow from Tsukiko.

"Four?"

"One for the tails, one for your ears, one for your chakra, and one for the markings.", she explained.

"But I thought it could only hide physical characteristics..."

"I can change that, but each will still only hide one thing at a time.", she explained

"Alright... wait, what markings?"

Hikari smiled lightly and touched the triangle-like mark on her cheek. Now that Tsukiko really looked at it though, it was more akin to a thick stripe from a tiger; terminating in a point under her eyes.

"Bijou have bodily markings in their humanoid forms. One per tail, and only on specific body parts.", She explained. "One per cheek, one on each bicep and forearm, one above each hip, and one on the outside of their thighs. Of course, I'm the only one who has all ten marks, but each Bijou have their own. If memory serves, Kenji is only missing the one on his left thigh.", she offered as an example. "They match your fur color, and given the variety of shades it could be, or even if it retains your normal hair color, it would draw a lot of attention if you have Bijou marks, especially since the first ones are always on your face."

"...Alright. Please make the bracelets. I'm going to go home and... think very hard about this. It might seem like I'm rushing headlong into this, but I know that there's no going back.", she assured Hikari as she stood. She walked over and picked up her vest and mesh before walking away towards the exit.

Hikari watched her go, not knowing what to do. She closed her eyes and tried to hold back her tears; she knew what was going to happen, and she only hoped that Tsukiko didn't change because of it.

"It's hard to stop being selfish after so long...", she muttered, knowing that she could have done much more to prevent this from getting as far as it had. She tore a small piece from her cloak, and didn't have to look to know it had already fixed itself. The piece in her hand quickly grew into three long strips that she began braiding. It hurt her to know that she wanted Tsukiko to be a demoness...

At the same time, part of her hurt just because she wanted her.

**(Uchiha Compound. Two hours later)**

Itachi sighed as he rounded the corner and saw Sasuke standing on the bridge that went over a small river. The boy loved to brood there, but Itachi's promise to Ayame prevented the older Uchiha from avoiding his brother, at least for the night. With any luck, the boy wouldn't answer him and he could just leave after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Evening, Sasuke-kun. How's life?", he asked, walking up beside his brother and leaning on the railing.

"...", was the silent response from the younger Uchiha.

"Well that's nice."

This is why he hated talking to Sasuke; it was always one-sided and when he actually did answer, it was usually a half-assed "hn" or some other-

"Brother... why did you stay instead of going after the man who killed the clan?", Sasuke asked out of nowhere, cutting off Itachi's train of thought. He half considered not answering, if only because he didn't feel like arguing with Sasuke tonight. His little brother's confused tone, however, stopped that course of action.

"Why did I stay?", he asked, getting a small nod, though Sasuke was looking out over the water instead of at Itachi. "I told you before, I thought it was more important to protect you and mother from him and others like him here, than to go off after him."

Sasuke bit his lip and tired to figure out how to word his next question; he and Itachi had never been particularly skillful at communicating.

"Was it easy?", he finally asked. Itachi looked over with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it wasn't. You have no idea how much I wanted to go after him and make him pay. But I didn't, because you and mother are more important than revenge.", he said, softly but firm.

"So... you did what was right... and not what was easy?", Sasuke asked, almost too quietly to hear.

"Sasuke, is something wrong? You seem... distant tonight. Is there something you want to talk about?", Itachi asked. This was severely unlike his brother.

"...How far would you go to do what's right; protecting mother and I?", he asked, actually looking over at Itachi.

"Farther than a sane man would."

"But how do you know what's right?", Sasuke asked, voice cracking ever so slightly. "How can you tell?"

Itachi sighed and straighted himself, turning to face Sasuke with a calm expression.

"Sasuke, I hope it doesn't come to you like it did to me, in a time of great pain and suffering... but one day, you'll see something happen, and you may not even realize it at the time.", Itachi explained, "Your common sense will urge you, your instincts will command you, to do something. Then, just as you're about to do it, you'll know. You'll hear a voice in the back of your mind that says "no"."

"And... I'll know what to do?", Sasuke asked.

"You'll have no clue whatsoever, but you'll know the difference between what is right, and what is easy.", Itachi finished. He decided that he had given his brother enough to think about, and vice versa, so he turned and walked off. About twenty feet away, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Sasuke..."

"Yeah?"

"Whatever you do, try not to give mother a heart attack. I'd hate to kick your ass for doing what you thought was right.", he said, giving a brotherly smile. For the first time in a long time, Itachi saw his little brother smile a little, and he nodded in return.

As Itachi walked away, Sasuke turned his gaze back to the water. He had a lot to think about, and one person to thank for it.

"What is right... and what is easy..."

* * *

And there's chapter three. I'm not going to reveal any plot happenings here, but let's just say I think you'll like it.

**_A Quick IMPORTANT note: Tsukiko and Hikari have seen each other everyday for six months. Tsukiko's "Errant" thoughts about Hikari happen a LOT more than what I write._**

Also, I'm 90% sure there are very few errors in the text here. I intend to fix chapter two's mistakes when I post this, but don't think you're missing anything.

Well, Ja Ne, my freaky Darlings. I'll have the next chapter up soon...ish...

They say what you do on New Year's Day affects how the rest of your year goes... I posted a chapter I wrote in one day today... let's hope the trend sticks, right?


	4. Last Day

Hello my Freaky Darlings, I hope you're enjoying this story so far.

It was an interesting trip when it came to writing this, so... have fun... and don't do drugs kids. In all seriousness though, I don't know how a woman would respond to the problems that I'm throwing on Tsukiko's plate; I know how I would react, but I had to guess for her. Let's see if it came out alright.

**Chapter Four: Last Day**

* * *

"So, did anyone else decide to come?", Tsukiko asked as Sakura led her and Ayame to Ino's home.

"Nope; just you, Ayame, Ino, Hinata and me. I guess that's a good thing though, Ino said she wanted to keep it mostly in her room... we probably couldn't get too many more in there without it feeling crowded.", Sakura replied, glad that Tsukiko had decided to come. Ayame seemed pretty nice too.

"Why does she want to keep it in her room?", Ayame asked, raising an eyebrow. She hadn't been to something like this in a couple years, but she remembered most of them ending up with all the girls crashing in the living room.

"Her mom likes making flower vases, and she gets a little jumpy when there's frequent traffic throughout the house. She's actually filled the house up with them.", Sakura sweatdropped. "As far as I know, we're staying in the living room until after dinner, then we're heading to Ino's room."

"Anything else we should be warned of?", Tsukiko asked; she had a feeling it was going to get a little "girly" for her taste. Still, she was going to stay if only because of what she had decided. Tonight was her last night as a human after all...

"Ino is pretty likely to bust out the "Kunoichi" Magazines; you know, stupid little tests to see who your "dream shinobi" is, or little beauty tips that don't interfere too badly with being a kunoichi. Things like that.", Sakura warned. She used to be pretty bad about reading them, but she had drifted away recently. "Other than that, she likes to make embarrassing situations; be careful if she ropes us into truth or dare."

"I'll keep that in mind; there are a number of things I don't want other people to know.", Tsukiko sighed, though she doubted she'd appreciate Ino's dares any more than her questions.

"As much of a gossip as Ino is, she's pretty good at keeping secrets. Her usual rule is "It doesn't leave the room", so don't worry too much about it. I know you and Ino might not be on the best of terms, but we're all friends here, so it's not liked you'd be spilling your deepest secrets to total strangers.", Sakura offered, getting a sigh from the girl. Ayame giggled and adjusted the backpack she had hanging off of one shoulder. She was wearing a dull green Kimono in place of her usual "t-shirt n jeans" combo.

"Was that rule instated because of a few of her own secrets?", Ayame asked, still kind of laughing. She had a friend that had done the same thing.

"Between that and death threats... yeah.", Sakura admitted, remembering the day. She and Ino, throughout the time their friendship had been strained because of Sasuke, had done things like this a few times. Why... was beyond both of them.

Tsukiko was hoping that she could avoid the right questions during the party, or at least lie well enough to avoid suspicion. Things like "where did you learn that style of fighting" were high on her list.

"_Hikari is my secret, and I'm not sharing her with anyone...I mean, I'm not sharing the secret with anyone!"_, she shouted in her head, turning red. She pushed that little blunder to the back of her mind, like every errant thought she had about the Bijou.

"Tsukiko, are you feeling okay? You look a little red.", Ayame asked, reaching over and putting a hand on her friend's forehead.

"_Her skin is rougher than Hikari's."_, She absently thought, turning even redder when she realized what she had thought. She quickly removed Ayame's hand as she pushed the thought away.

"I-I'm fine.", she replied, trying to push every thought about Hikari to the back of her mind, if only for a few hours. It was Seven as it was, so she only had to keep her mind off of Hikari for a few hours, then deal with it in the morning. Yep, a full nights sleep and she could deal with thoughts about Hikari and her long, beautiful hair and-

"You're getting a bit redder Tsukiko; let's hurry up, Sakura-san.", Ayame remarked, looking at her friend as she desperately tried to keep a straight face and push back all the thoughts about Hikari at the same time.

"I said I'm fine.", Tsukiko snapped, finally having managed to push all thoughts of Hikari to the back of her mind.

(Mindscape)

Kenji was a little curious as to why a door had randomly appeared about thirty feet away from him, which had been promptly boarded shut by a chibi version of Tsukiko that had walked off looking triumphant. He shrugged and went back to trying to figure out what he wanted to be in his next life.

"... I'm thinking... something small, furry... and poisonous...", he muttered, thinking fondly of what he could do in such a body.

(Reality)

"Calm down Tsukiko-chan, I was just worried about you.", Ayame returned, brow furrowed. "What's been bugging you lately? You've been acting weird."

"Nothing; everything is fine.", She replied, calming herself.

Sakura had listened to the exchange silently, wondering the same thing Ayame had been. Tsukiko had been a little different recently, though she was sure that Ayame could see more of a change than she could.

Itachi hadn't gotten anything from Sasuke, so Ayame was stuck with what she already knew; something was deeply bothering Tsukiko, and she wasn't too sure that Tsukiko knew that herself. Whatever it was, it was eating her up. She had a feeling it had something to do with her "Love Life", given how she had reacted the day before when she mentioned Itachi and herself.

"We're here.", Sakura said with some degree of relief as the Yamanaka's home came into view. She led the two over and knocked on the door.

"Finally!", Ino chastised when she opened the door, "Well come in, Hinata and I have been waiting for an hour."

The blond hurried the trio into the house, lightly annoying them about taking off their shoes and being on time. When she saw Tsukiko, she frowned and stopped talking.

"Tsukiko, why are you in your kunoichi gear?", she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with it?", she asked in return. Ino clicked her tongue.

"This is supposed to be a party... as in relaxing. You can't tell me you can really relax in those clothes.", she replied. Deciding she wasn't going to fight about this on "enemy soil", Tsukiko calmed herself enough to reply.

"Then point me to the bathroom and I'll change."

"Upstairs, last door on the left."

Tsukiko walked past her, sighing as she readjusted her back-pack. Hopefully it wouldn't turn into a war zone. When she had disappeared upstairs, Ayame turned to Ino.

"Ino-san, it's nice to meet you; I'm Tsukiko's friend Ayame.", she introduced herself.

"Likewise. Sorry for the mess.", Ino motioned to the various magazines and cups on the coffee table. It looked to be a simple set-up for a house; a living room, Kitchen, and a few rooms tucked away in a hall on the first floor, and the bathrooms and bedrooms on the second. The living room consisted of a couch on one side of a large coffee table and armchairs on the other. It wasn't overly large, barely above average in size, but it had a "homey" feel to it. As Sakura had earlier warned, though, Ayame could see flower vases everywhere.

"It's not what I'd call a mess, but to each her own.", Ayame replied lightly, smiling to ease the small amount of tension Ino had. The girl put a lot of stock into what others thought apparently.

"That's good; I'm going for a good first impression here.", Ino giggled, motioning to the living room a moment later.

Ayame and Sakura walked past her and sat down on either side of the couch. Hinata sat across from them in one of the armchairs. She, like the two other girls, had her backpack near her.

"Hello, I'm Hinata Hyuuga.", the girl greeted softly. Ayame could tell she was the shy type; probably content with the small size of their "group".

"Ayame Ichiraku; Nice to meet you.", she replied, smiling. "I'm Tsukiko's friend."

At that moment, Tsukiko came back down the stairs in her "leisure" clothing; a large white t-shirt and a pair of red sleep-shorts that went to just below her knees.

"Better?", she asked, looking over at Ino.

"That was fast, and yes, much better.", Ino replied, giving the girl a smile and a thumbs up. "Sorry about before; I get a little touchy about the weirdest things."

"Better than some of the other things you could have freaked about.", Tsukiko replied, deciding that Ino might not be too bad... in small doses. "I just wear my Kunoichi gear ninety percent of the time, so it's damn near a reflex for me to put it on before leaving the house. At least I managed to leave the kunai pouch."

It was a weak joke, but Ino let out a light laugh if only to be friendly. The blond motioned to the living room and led the red-head over, getting her to sit in the unoccupied arm-chair while Ino sat down in between Sakura and Ayame.

"I'm kinda new to this, and I'm not really sure it's my kind of "party" to begin with, so...", Tsukiko said, looking over at Ino.

"Don't worry about it; we're just going to talk a little down here till we eat, then we'll head upstairs. Then... well, not to make it sound boring, but it's mostly talking, magazines, and little games.", Ino chuckled, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "I know you're not really into "girly" things, but it shouldn't be unbearable for you. If Hinata can stand it, you'll be fine."

"It isn't that bad. I know what you might be thinking, given how Ino was back at the academy, but these slumber parties are actually pretty fun. It's not like she ties you down and forces you to read the most annoying magazine in existence.", Hinata giggled, getting a light glare from the blond at the wording.

"If it starts getting too "girly"...", Ino started, though Tsukiko held up a hand and cut her off.

"Trust me, you'll be the first to know.", she replied, getting another thumbs up. "So... what are we going to talk about?"

"I don't know; I normally save the topics that might get too personal for upstairs, so anything other than that is fair game.", Ino replied. "Why don't you pick a topic Ayame?"

"Well...what's it like being a kunoichi? I've asked Tsukiko a few times, but she usually just groans and avoids answering.", Ayame admitted, getting a mock glare from the red-head.

"That was because I wasn't doing too well, remember? It's like asking someone who sucks at their job "How's work?", y'know?", Tsukiko replied.

"I've heard you've been improving though.", Hinata remarked. "Kurenai-sensei said that Hatake-san was praising your progress at the last sensei meeting."

"Yeah, I heard her say that he said something about a new style and some hand signs for a powerful jutsu.", Ino added. Tsukiko was reminded that, since Chouji and Shikamaru had passed the exams, Ino had been left alone; luckily, depending on your view, only Shino had passed the chuunin exams on team 8, leaving an open spot on Kurenai's team that Ino had filled. The older kunoichi had been doing wonders for the girl. Drawing herself from the recollection, she realized how close this was getting to being a very bad line of questions.

"Now why would I go and tell you about those? A kunoichi needs her secrets, after all.", Tsukiko replied playfully, hoping the light diversion would be enough. If she was friendly about it, they might stop a with a little less of a nudge.

"Oh come on, at least give us some names!", Ino pressed. Ayame, sitting to her left, had a feeling the girl was going to be the voice of the party, at least for a while.

Tsukiko pondered the consequences for a moment before responding, knowing a small sacrifice might save her some trouble later.

"The style is called the Kaze Mai, and the jutsu is the Katon: Heisekishou.", she said calmly.

"The Wind Dance and Burning Ash Accumulation.", Hinata muttered, eyebrows high. She had never heard of a style called Kaze Mai before, but if Kurenai was to be believed, it was powerful if done right, regardless of how simple it actually was. Enemies with powerful techniques don't mean anything if they can't hit you.

"I take it we're not getting anymore out of you?", Ino sighed.

"You still need to answer Ayame, first of all, and that is all you're getting for now. Maybe I'll go into more later.", Tsukiko replied.

"It's not bad if you can handle the training; you go home sore, but you feel stronger.", Hinata said quietly, looking over at Ayame.

"What about the missions? Are they hard?"

"D-ranks are more likely to kill you out of sheer boredom than anything else. Putting it nicely, they're chores.", Sakura sighed, remembering her first missions. "C-ranks... well, the only C-rank that Tsukiko and I had ended up being an A-rank because of a lying client. Luckily Kakashi-sensei was able to keep us alive."

"Wasn't the best of feelings, though; having to be saved.", Tsukiko muttered, resting her cheek in her palm while her elbow sat on the armrest.

"Better than being dead though, right?", Ayame asked, getting a light laugh and nod from Tsukiko and Sakura.

"It's sort of hard to describe it to someone who isn't a kunoichi... sorry...", Ino apologized. Ayame waved it off, smiling.

"Don't worry about it; a simple answer is better than nothing. So, what do you want to talk about next?", she asked.

"Well, it's a quarter till eight... do you want to order dinner or just throw a frozen pizza into the oven?", Ino asked, looking over at the clock. Due to the usual time that she and the others had to wake up for training, she knew that they'd start running out of fuel at roughly ten-thirty or eleven. Might as well eat now.

"Pizza.", Ayame replied. She could get a discount from the Ramen stand, but after growing up around it, she couldn't really eat it anymore.

"Pizza is fine with me.", Sakura replied, looking over at Hinata and Tsukiko a moment later, "What about you two? Is pizza okay?". She got two nods in return.

"I'll go pop it in the oven then. Feel free to keep talking.", Ino said, standing up and walking off into the kitchen.

"Well... this feels weird...", Tsukiko muttered, "It's like I don't want to talk about anything until after we get upstairs."

"I know the feeling, it's just anticipation; you don't want to say anything now because it might be more relevant later.", Ayame replied, "Or some such B.S."

Tsukiko smiled and giggled a little, appreciating the comedy. She felt somewhat out of place here, and Ayame was acting like her mediator. Sure, Hinata and Sakura were her friends, but they hadn't been great at communicating... well, she and Hinata could talk, but they rarely saw each other.

"I'm sure you'll find something interesting. Ino's good at silly little games to keep people entertained.", Sakura commented.

"I heard that!", Ino shouted from the kitchen, getting a round of laughs from the living room.

"_This is nice... but... this is what I'll be leaving behind... forever..."_, Tsukiko thought, but she quieted the thought, not wanting the melancholy to show on her face. She was trying to have fun, after all.

"Alright, the pizza's in; it'll be about twenty minutes for it to cook.", Ino said, coming back in.

The conversation slowly picked up; for the most part it stuck to daily occurrences in their lives, or training methods their senseis had. When the pizza had finished, Ino informed them it was self-serve, though they all ended up with two slices on a paper-plate.

Tsukiko would have normally avoided pepperoni, if only because she didn't like the taste, but she muscled through it for the sake of final sensations while she was a human. There wasn't a great deal of talking while they ate, and when they were all done, the anticipated "migration" began.

"Your mother really loves those vases, doesn't she?", Tsukiko asked as they walked upstairs. Ino sighed and nodded.

"It takes up a lot of her time, but she's good at it and it does bring in a lot of income. After all, people generally need somewhere to put the flowers they buy.", She explained, "But she doesn't have a lot of time to spend with dad and me anymore. I don't mean to sound sappy, but I miss the times when I was a little girl and we would hang out all the time. What about you Tsukiko, are there any memories you miss about your parents?"

"Not really; not a lot has changed since I was little. Dad comes home from work tired but smiling, and occasionally spars with me or gives me some pointers, while mom makes dinner and helps me in any other areas my dad might have forgotten. Still, we're a ninja family, so those areas are usually stealth or balance; not that it did any good though.", she replied, laughing at the end.

"Wow... they sound so normal.", Sakura remarked, somewhat surprised. Tsukiko never really spoke about her family, and it was easy to forget that she was the daughter of the Yondaime sometimes.

"They are; a little weird sometimes, but they're human.", Tsukiko said, hiding the pang of guilt when she said human. Another thing she'd have to come to terms with. "They have their flaws and personality quirks just like anybody."

They arrived at Ino's room, and Tsukiko was slightly unsurprised to find it the same shade of purple that the girl usually wore. Still, it was a calm color, and it was large enough for them to move around without feeling crowded.

There was a single window on the far wall, with a bookshelf on the wall to the left of the door. Opposite the shelf was a large bed with purple sheets, with a small bedside table near it's head. Just off to the side of the window was a large desk with a spinning chair pushed in. In the middle of the floor was a shag rug, though it's purple color stood out compared to the white carpet around it. A few pillows sat either on the large rug or around it, there for makeshift seating.

"Well, here we are. I'll say this now,", Ino said as she shut the door behind them, "Whatever happens in this room stays here. Embarrassing secrets or awkward moments... they don't leave with us, alright?"

"Agreed.", Tsukiko replied as the other girls confirmed the same.

"Alright, who's up for a little game then?", Ino asked, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. Tsukiko had a feeling she had been waiting for this

"I'm going to regret asking, but what are you thinking of this time?", Sakura asked, knowing that it was going to make at least one of them glad for the "Doesn't leave the room" rule.

"Just a bit of trivia... but if you get your question wrong, then you have to give one letter of your crush's name, and another per wrong question. Last name first, then their first name.", Ino replied simply.

"And what's the trivia about?"

"It's random; remember that spinner from that game we used to play as little girls... what was it called? Whatever; we spin it once to decide whose asking the question that round, and once more to decide who they're asking. They can ask anything they want, within reason."

"Sounds... a bit complex...", Ayame sweatdropped. Still, it sounded like a good way to pass the time. "But what if we're spoken for? Should I just use my boyfriend?"

"Yeah, that will be fine. None of us know who it is, do we?", Sakura asked.

"I do, but I won't say anything.", Tsukiko replied, somewhat startled when Ino shoved a clip board and a marker into her hand.

"Well then, since you already know one person's, you can be the "score" keeper. Write our names down and keep track of the letters.", Ino explained. "We're going to sit on the rug with the spinner in the middle; you can sit on the bed. Sound good?"

Tsukiko nodded, knowing she was sitting on the bed to be a better scoreboard. The thought was slightly amusing nonetheless.

"Don't forget to write down your name too; you're not getting out of this just because your the score keeper.", Ino reminded her, getting a mock-sigh and a nod.

They sat down where they were supposed to, and Tsukiko took a moment to write down their names, though she only used the first letters.

"Hey... did you know that the first letters of our names spell "Shit"?", Tsukiko asked, looking up. "Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Tsukiko... not including yours, Ayame."

"That... is something I could have lived without knowing.", Ino replied, though she was biting back a laugh. Sakura and Hinata were smiling lightly, knowing it had been a joke, and Ayame was giggling out loud. "Are you ready?"

"Yep; last name first, right?", Tsukiko asked, just to make sure everyone was aware. She got a nod from Ino, "Well then, spin away."

Ino flicked the spinner, though a thought came to mind as it whirled around.

"No cheating; Ayame is a civilian, so it won't be fair if we use chakra to alter the results, alright?", she asked, looking up. After a chorus of agreements, she looked back down to see the spinner pointing to Ayame. "Looks like you're up. Oh, and if you ask an opinionated question, it's only wrong if they don't answer."

"As in...?", Ayame asked as she flicked the spinner.

"What's your favorite color, or something like that. If you ask one that's too embarrassing for someone to answer and they don't, then it's "wrong", and they have to give a letter.", Ino replied. They all looked down to see the arrow pointing to Tsukiko.

"Alright...", Ayame muttered, appearing the think hard for a moment. A playful smile appeared on her face, knowing that the girl wouldn't forgive her for this one. "I think I'll start with an opinion question."

"You're the one asking.", Tsukiko reminded her, not overly worried. Ayame wasn't what she would consider threatening-

"So what's your favorite sex position, or the one you like fantasizing about?", she asked, stifling a laugh as the girls around her turned a bright red. Apparently being a few years older gave her the liberty to ask that sort of question without being embarrassed; she was going to enjoy this.

"I-I don't know! My mom doesn't let anything even remotely relating to... that... even close to the house; be it books or conversation. I don't know.", She replied, bright red. A nagging thought came into the back of her mind, though she reflexively shoved it behind the door she made earlier before she analyzed it.

"Then give us a letter."

"A", Tsukiko said, having written and said it before she could stop herself. Her thought process ground to a halt, and she almost felt sick. Luckily, Ino brought her out of her thoughts before she was consumed by the reflex.

"Okay, n-next question.", she said, spinning the arrow. She hadn't expected Ayame to start off with _that_ sort of question. This time the spinner landed on her, and then Ayame.

"Alright... name the other major ninja villages.", Ino said, wondering if it was adequate payback.

"Iwa...Kumo...And...uh...shit...", she swore; this wasn't really relevant to her job or life. "U."

Tsukiko wrote it down and turned the board back to face the others so that she wouldn't have to look at the single letter beside her "T". The spinner landed on Sakura

Sakura flicked the spinner this time, and Tsukiko felt a creeping worry build up as she brought the board back to her lap... and the arrow landed on her.

"Do you know what your chakra affinity is?", she asked, knowing it wasn't the best of questions.

"No.", Tsukiko replied before she could stop herself; nor could she stop her hand.

"Next letter.", Ino half-demanded. Tsukiko didn't dare look down, and instead held up the board, mind starting to short circuit. "V? A-v...can't say I can think of any last name with those letters.", she remarked, flicking the spinner. It landed on Hinata, and then Tsukiko.

"Oh this thing is so rigged.", Tsukiko complained as the lavender haired girl thought about her question.

"Have you ever thought about having sex with another girl?", she asked, catching everyone off guard.

"What part of my mother not allowing that sort of thing in the house did you not hear?", Tsukiko asked, blushing.

"That's technically not an answer. Next letter.", Hinata replied, smiling slyly. Tsukiko's eye twitched; Hinata had manipulated that one.

"A.", she said, feeling something drop inside her as she wrote it down, though she refused to look down at it.

The game continued, and Tsukiko was glad that the spinner seemed to leave her alone a bit more, at least for the time being; still, the R, O, and N had come out, and she still refused to look at the board.. Ayame didn't have much luck with the questions or spinner though, and Itachi's name was the first one written out.

"You're dating Itachi Uchiha?", Ino asked, shocked. Ayame scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well... we've been friends since we were kids... a few days ago he just... kissed me. Out of the blue, he just leans over and kissed me and...well I guess we both had a lot of built up emotion for the other. We're not going to have sex till after marriage, if it gets that far, but we're both content with where we are right now..."

"On the couch, making out, right?", Tsukiko asked, holding back a laugh. Ayame blushed lightly.

"At least I'm dating the man I'm in love with. Who's this Avaron guy?", Ayame countered, glaring back. She was surprised when Tsukiko visibly flinched; she could see the whirling emotions in the girl's eyes.

"Just flick the damn spinner.", she said, voice quiet and cold. Ino raised an eyebrow at the sudden change, but as long as she didn't have to spell out the rest of Kiba's name, she was content.

Tsukiko's eye twitched again as it landed on Ayame and then her.

"Alright then, how long do you think you should be in a relationship before you have sex?", she asked.

"...Anywhere from a few months to a few years. Depends on the... relationship.", she said quietly at the end. She didn't want to think about what she might have said instead of "relationship" if she hadn't stopped herself; it was getting hard to think, and it felt like she was trying to stop a flood from coming through a door. The door was warped, and water was leaking through.

"Alright, spin again.", Sakura said. Tsukiko leaned down and flicked the little spinner, sitting back up in time to see it land on Ino. The blond flicked it and, much to Tsukiko's dread, it landed on her again.

"Why are you freaking out? I can see it in your eyes.", She asked. Tsukiko's lips sealed shut as she looked away.

"...H...", she said, writing the letter down.

"No, the game's over. What's wrong Tsukiko? You've been acting weirder and weirder with every letter that you write down beside your name.", Ino said, throwing the spinner onto her desk. "What's wrong?"

"...I..."

"Dammit, knock it off! I'm trying to help you here. Why are you freaking out?", she asked again. Sakura was confused as well, just like Hinata and Ayame.

"...K..."

"Would you stop that?"

"...A..."

"Why are you being so difficult?", Ino half-shouted, not seeing the tears the were running down Tsukiko's face from eyes that were screwed shut.

"...R..."

Ayame's eyes widened when she realized what her best friend was spelling. The other girls weren't paying too much attention to that, too focused on making Tsukiko tell them what was wrong to realize she was doing exactly that.

"How long are you going to keep this up?", Ino asked. It was then that she saw the tears on Tsukiko's face as they fell unto the clip board.

"...I..."

"Oh, Tsukiko-chan...", Ayame said softly, getting up and moving over to the bed. She sat down next to Tsukiko and hugged her, fully expecting her to drop the clip board, latch on, and start sobbing into her chest, just above her heart.

"What's wrong with her?", Sakura asked, confused.

"Hikari Avaron.", Ayame said, motioning to the shaky letters on the paper with her head. "Tsukiko is in love with another woman, and she's having trouble with it; this must be why she's been acting so upset lately.", she explained while gently rubbing Tsukiko's back. She had never seen her cry this hard.

For Tsukiko, the flood had broken the door. She was surrounded by every thought she had ever had of Hikari; every time she saw her in a romantic light, everything that reminded her of the Bijou, every errant little thought of whimsy, and every unintentional sexual thought all came down on her. She didn't know how to feel, but she was hurting badly, and crying was slowly letting the pain die down. It wasn't much, and she had a feeling that she would be crying for a long time, but it would help.

"O-oh.", Ino replied, turning red and feeling bad for having pushed. Sakura got up and sat on the other side of Tsukiko, gently rubbing her back.

"Her mother is really homophobic, and she grew up with that on top of no sexual education of any kind; it's a really bad combination. She might not have realized what she was feeling, and with no way to release that sort of tension, it just built up and built up until the dam broke. I just wish she had told me; I could have tried to help her with this.", Ayame explained, letting her friend cry it out.

"Homophobia and not knowing how to deal with... urges...? That's it?", Ino asked, finding it odd to be breaking down like that over those causes. She shriveled, however, in the glare Ayame shot her way.

"Not being able to come to grips with loving someone... hurts... especially when you're suddenly forced to. She started writing Hikari's name before she could stop herself.", Ayame explained, still glaring.

"Look, I'm just saying it seems like there should be more; Is that really all she's worried about?", Ino replied.

"...no..."

It had almost been too quiet for Ayame to hear over her sobbing, but she was sure Tsukiko had just spoken.

"Tsukiko-chan, did you just say something?"

"I...I-I said...n-no(sob)", came the weak reply, still quiet and cloaked in sobs. Her mind was whirling, and full of images of Hikari; her thought process was all but motionless, and she was past the point of caring who hear what she had to say.

"There's more?", she asked, confused. She looked over to Ino. "Is there a jutsu that can stop sound from leaving this room?". She had heard Itachi mention it once a few years ago.

"Yeah, I'm not good at it though...", Ino admitted, feeling worse by the second.

"I am.", Hinata replied, running through the hand signs. A soft glow enshrouded the walls for a moment after the last one, and Hinata nodded.

"This does _not_ leave the room, got it?", Ayame asked. Ino nodded and wondered how a civilian could be this frightening. The other girls nodded as well. "Alright Tsukiko-chan, this stays in the room. Will your dad not approve either?"

Tsukiko couldn't bring herself to speak, so she nodded into Ayame's shirt.

"Why wouldn't he like it? I thought Kushina was the only one who was homopho-"

"Hikari is a Bijou.", Tsukiko said, sobbing suddenly coming to an end as her voice cut through the air.

"What?", Ayame asked, gently lifting Tsukiko's head to look her in the eyes. They were wet, puffy, and the maelstrom of emotion had yet to calm.

"Hikari is a demoness, the Juubi no Kitsune. D-Dad hates the bijou; he'd... he'd try to kill her if he found her...", Tsukiko said, voice cracking and wavering.

"Tsukiko, the Bijou are ten-story animals with a penchant for destruction, not-", Sakura started, though Tsukiko cut her off.

"No, Hikari-chan isn't like that. She isn't an animal.", she said, trying to sound firm. She was beyond the point of caring if this sounded sane. "She's tall, almost seven feet, and lithe. She's got beautiful ocean blue hair that falls to her waist, Fox ears with of the same color with white tips, and the most beautiful silver eyes...", she muttered at the end, leaning into Ayame again as a fresh wave of tears came forth.

"Tsukiko...", Ayame said softly, not knowing what else to say. It was beyond insanity, but she had no reason not to believe her.

"She stays at a special valley we call Sanctuary... I met her when I went there one day... she's the one who's been teaching me the Kaze Mai...",she muttered, squeezing Ayame, "And... and tomorrow night... she...she's going to help me become... like her..."

"What do you mean, like her?", Sakura asked, wondering what was going on. This was crazy, and the girl was incoherent as it was.

"I'm... When the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked sixteen years ago, the Sandaime sealed him away inside of me. I was just a baby... my chakra coils could adapt to the demon's chakra.", she said softly, holding back the tears for a little bit at least. "And if I cut the seal in my mindscape, then Kenji can die, and the chakra left behind will make me a demoness. I'll be able to learn the final stages of the Kaze Mai, Have nearly unlimited chakra and...and..."

"And you want to be with her.", Ayame finished for her, rubbing her back gently.

"But I don't know if she wants to be with me...", Tsukiko whispered, barely loud enough for them to hear. "And demons don't have dating; their rules are different... they use courtship... And I don't even know how it works..."

"Shh, just calm down.", Ayame replied, hearing the frantic tone start to creep into Tsukiko's voice. "Everything is going to be alright."

"If I do this... I'll stay young and watch the village age and die around me. If I don't do it... I stay a miserable human in love with a demoness."

"Tsukiko, stay calm. Freaking out isn't going to help with this.", Ayame said calmly. She motioned with her head for Sakura to move. When she did, Ayame moved a little further back on the bed and laid down with Tsukiko, hoping the new position would help her calm down. "I always knew you were going to do something borderline crazy when you became a ninja. Just didn't think it would be for love."

"N-nani?", Tsukiko asked, looking into her friends eyes.

"Tell me how she makes you feel, and I'll tell you what I think you should do.", Ayame offered, smiling. "But you have to calm down; Deal?"

Tsukiko nodded and tried to calm the maelstrom in her mind enough to answer as coherently as she had been. It still hurt to think about Hikari though, and she couldn't bring herself to do anything more than whisper.

Ayame could tell Tsukiko was having trouble describing it as soon as she started whispering to her, and the look in her eyes was pleading for some sort of easier way to describe it.

Tsukiko had never lied to her about anything, and she trusted the girl; she knew what Tsukiko was saying was the truth. But if Tsukiko honestly wanted to become a demoness...

"...Do it.", Ayame said when Tsukiko had paused for a moment to find the right words. The girl's head snapped up from where it had fallen, a look of confusion on her face, despite the look of relief deep within her expression.

"B-but..."

"Tsukiko, I've known you for years, and I've never heard you talk about anyone with this much emotion. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you should do it.", she repeated. "But... I'm going to be there with you; I have to know what happens to you.".

Ayame looked over to see a mix of emotions on the faces of the other girls. Ino seemed skeptical, though sympathetic for the breakdown Tsukiko was having; Sakura was much that same, though Ayame could see she was trying to convince herself that Tsukiko had been telling the truth; Hinata looked truely sympathetic for the girl, but she had no idea what to do at this point. Ayame had a feeling that they weren't all going to accept what Tsukiko was doing, either as truth or right, but the girl could find some peace while they thought about where they would stand. Ayame's decision put her beside her friend, and she knew Tsukiko would appreciate that.

Tsukiko sighed and let her head rest on Ayame's shoulder again, feeling drained on top of having a certain Bijou resting in every nook and cranny of her mind.

Before she knew what was happening, she found herself laying on a bed of wildflowers.

"Did I... fall asleep?", she asked herself, sitting up. Something seemed off about this place; the ground was damp and rain clouds hung over the landscape.

"Ah, Tsukiko. Just the person I wanted to see."

Tsukiko jumped up and whirled around to see Kenji sitting behind her, still chained of course. Apparently she had been laying right beside the pedestal.

"Geez, you scared me!", she chastised. "And what are you talking about? I'm the only one who can come in here for you to see anyway."

"The thousand images of Hikari that burst through that door say otherwise.", he laughed, motioning to the splintered door frame with a tail. "I'll admit, you have a very vivid imagination. That or Hikari was being generous with states of undress."

Tsukiko turned a bright red, but managed to send the door away. She really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Just drop it Kenji."

His expression was unreadable for a moment, but he looked half-sad.

"Is there anything you'd like to know about being a demon?", he asked calmly. "Hikari is likely to forget to mention some things out of either embarrassment or genuine forgetfulness."

"I...", Tsukiko was about to tell him she was fine, but she stopped herself. "...How... does courtship work?"

"...You wish to court Hikari.", It was a statement, not a question. Tsukiko managed a weak nod, not knowing how to feel. Kenji sighed. "It starts with a gift. It has to be something that would be meaningful to the other person, be it a favorite food or gemstone. If she accepts it, then the courtship has begun. She'll try and find you something as well... if she accepts, that is."

"What does she like?", she asked, voice still quiet. "I... I don't want to just get her an apple."

"...She actually came from the poorer parts of the Kitsune Clan, you know.", he remarked as he would if he was commenting on the weather. Tsukiko lifted her head and looked at Kenji, finding him looking off into the distance. "It's just a bunch of families living under a species name, and some Kitsune don't like stealing to make money. Hikari's parents were like that, and they stayed at the bottom because of it."

Tsukiko wasn't sure where the fox was going with this, but it was interesting to hear about Hikari's early life.

"When she discovered how easy it was for her to gain tails, she did everything in her power to avoid them, and still ended up with six at the same time I got my second. It annoyed her, really, that people were noticing her because of her tails and potential. I couldn't count the number of courtship offers she received. I could tell she had trouble refusing some of them; one of them... an old friend... offered her a loving marriage, and jewelery. She loves jewelery, you see, because she never had anything like that growing up. She refused though, not sure why...", he muttered, tapping a tail against the ground; His tone was distant. "Even to this day though, she still loves jewelery. She never has any money though, and she hates stealing; she can't even bring herself to will the metal from the earth and shape it herself."

"So... I should get her... a ring?", Tsukiko asked, wondering what kind of history Hikari and Kenji really had.

"...Yes...a ring. But you have to make it yourself, and... set it with a gem, if you can.", Kenji replied, still not looking at his container. "After you become a Bijou, you'll have control over all elements, and mastery over your own element. Ask Hikari while you're resting up, and she'll teach you how to manipulate earth; you'll need it to make the ring... but don't tell her why... or that I told you.", He sighed.

"What kind of gem? And what kind of metal?", Tsukiko asked, feeling that Kenji was being purposely vague.

"I can't tell you; courtship is about discovery.", he replied, chuckling. "I supposed the truth is in Hikari's eyes though. Now go and rest; tomorrow is a big day for you."

"But... tonight is the last time I'll really see you. Don't you want some company?", she asked, trying to riddle through Kenji's words.

"I'm touched... but you need your rest more than I need long goodbyes. If the weather has been anything to go by, you're hurting right now. A good night's sleep will help.", he replied, resting his head on his paws and letting his eyes drift shut.

Tsukiko looked at Kenji and nodded, knowing he couldn't see it. She walked away, knowing that if she walked far enough she would fall into her subconscious and go to sleep. She had a feeling that Hikari would be there though, waiting for her.

**(Next day, Sanctuary entrance)**

"Thanks for coming Ayame...", Tsukiko said to her friend as they walked through the cave. They had told Kushina that Ayame was coming to play the part of the "civilian being escorted"; Kushina was glad that someone else would be at Sanctuary with Tsukiko, and wholeheartedly approved.

"No problem; besides, I have to do that mandatory "Are they good enough for my friend" test.", She said, smiling. Tsukiko blushed and Shh'ed her.

"Hikari has amazing hearing; please be quiet about that.", she pleaded as they left the cave. Ayame sighed and nodded, though she gasped at the sight of Sanctuary. Tsukiko had told her about it, but she had never actually come here.

"This place is beautiful...", she muttered, looking around.

"Come on; the anticipation is killing me.", Tsukiko said, almost shakily. They walked towards the lone tree, where Tsukiko knew Hikari would be waiting.

"Have you decided?", Hikari's voice asked from the branches when they were about ten feet away, stopping them. Ayame was taken aback by the melodious sound of it, and had to wonder what was connected to that voice.

"Yes... I'm going to do it.", Tsukiko replied, sure of it.

Hikari hopped down from the branches and walked around the tree, though Tsukiko couldn't hold a gasp at the sight of the ten blue, white-tipped fox tails waving behind Hikari. Hikari's eyes, however, were locked on Ayame.

"Who is this?", she asked, tensing up.

"Ayame Ichiraku; I'm Tsukiko's friend. She... had a bit of an episode last night at the party and said a few thing she didn't mean to. No one is going to say anything, and there were only five of us there, but... I wanted to see Tsukiko through this.", Ayame explained. Hikari replied with a slow nod before beckoning Tsukiko over. Ayame followed close behind.

She was a little wary of this woman, though she supposed seeing any demon for the first time wasn't an occasion completely without fear. Still, If Tsukiko trusted Hikari, then Ayame would trust her as well.

"Just lay down here, and I'll make a dense field of my chakra around you. It will stop Kenji's chakra from alerting any ninja in Konaha... You should put this bracelet on first.", she said, slipping one of five off of her arm, "This one will slow the growth process down; that way you won't go home a few feet taller with hair down to your thighs. The other four will hide the rest, like we talked about."

Tsukiko took the braided cloth and slipped it around her wrist, jumping slightly when it shrunk to fit her arm.

"Any last words as a human?", Hikari asked as Tsukiko laid down. She sat down on her right.

"...I'm sure...", she replied. Hikari smiled lightly and nodded, looking at Ayame as she sat down on the other side of Tsukiko.

"Do you have any qualms about her doing this?", Hikari asked, adressing Ayame.

"...I trust her reasons. It's her life, not mine, and I can't tell her what to do with her species.", Ayame offered, trying a small smile at the end. "And... I trust _you, _because I trust her."

"...Thank you.", Hikari replied. She inhaled, and slowly let it out. "Go to the seal and cut it. Remember, top left to lower right, and you have to remove the right half. I'll see you when you wake up... good luck, Tsukiko-chan."

Tsukiko felt a sudden pressure around her as Hikari concentrated, and she saw a light blue dome surround her. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt awkward; almost like Hikari was surrounding her with her entire being. Still, she closed her eyes and pushed into her mindscape.

"Are you ready, Kenji?", She asked, walking up to the pedestal. She concentrated and summoned a kunai when she stood before it.

"Yes... I think I am. Perhaps you'll see me again in the next life.", he replied, fox-lips curving up into a smile.

"I'd like that. Try not to kill me.", she added, returning the smile.

She looked down and calmed herself, knowing this had to be straight. Tsukiko pressed the kunai to the upper left corner and slowly took it down to the right corner, glad that she had managed an even cut. Even as the kunai left the paper, she could feel herself changing.

She grabbed the upper right corner of the seal and pulled it off, relieved that it ended at the cut. However, the seal in her had burst into flames as Kenji's shackles shattered, and the other half disappeared, making the entire mindscape start to shift. Kenji disappeared with a frantic look on his face, leaving Tsukiko alone as mountains and forests burst from the ground.

She was lifted up on a mountain and saw deep crevasses tearing open in the land and filling with water; strong gales began to blast the mindscape as it turned from a field to a small world all it's own.

Then out of nowhere, the agony started. Pain filled her limbs, penetrating to what felt like her soul; so many body parts hurt that she couldn't tell the difference any more. As it got worse, and the world continued to shift, her vision suddenly went black.

* * *

Oh dear, I seem to have made a cliff hanger...

First off, I'm sorry if I didn't do the slumber-party thing right; I'm a guy, and haven't done ANYTHING even remotely similar.

Secondly, I'm just going to use food that I'm familiar with rather than guess with Japanese dishes. Fair?

Third, I've got an interesting surprise for you next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Also, If you're going to review, make it a little more specific than "This is great, update soon". What's great? Be specific; that shit get's old really fast.

Ja Ne, My Freaky Darlings!


	5. First Day

Hello, my most Freaky of Darlings! Sorry for the wait; Life gets pretty time consuming sometimes...

Good news: I changed the time line for this story; instead of Tsukiko and Hikari knowing each other for one month, they've now known each other for 6. Nothing has really changed plot-wise up to this point, other than the extra time. I realized it was somewhat unrealistic, and I fixed it. I'd recommend going back and reading the previous chapters, as I've added a few things; Nothing major, but I filled in a few holes that might have irked some of you, as well as fixed some issues.

Well, Let's get started with Tsukiko's awakening! How will she handle being a demoness? Let's find out!

* * *

**Chapter 5: First Day**

The first thing she noticed was how dry her mouth was, followed by the fact that her eyes were closed, and did _not_ want to open. When she tried to raise and arm to rub the sleep from them, she realized how sore her muscles were, and that they didn't want to work properly either.

She tried to make some sort of noise, but she felt little more than a small rumble from her throat, and her mouth was having trouble opening.

"She's waking up; I don't know if she'll stay awake though.", a familiar voice said from her right; it was very pretty, and she felt a little calmer with it next to her.

"Is she going to be alright?", another familiar voice asked, though this one was much louder for some reason.

"Tch; her chakra will heal her, but her mind has to unfuck itself.", another smooth voice replied, this one farther away than the first, and most definitely male.

Tsukiko tried to open her eyes again, finding the task much easier now that she had calmed down. The world was blurry for a moment as her vision tried to focus in on her surroundings.

"Why does the ground hurt?", were the first words from her lips, though she was too preoccupied with trying to see properly to care about how stupid that had sounded.

"New muscles tend to be somewhat sore right after forming, Tsukiko-chan.", the first melodic voice replied. Hikari, Tsukiko realized. That must have made the second voice Ayame... but then who was the third?

Tsukiko blinked a few times, almost gasping when her vision finally cleared up; everything was so clear it was like she was in a different world; she could see the veins in the leaves above her, and the drops of dew that rested on them clearly showed the color spectrum, though there were a menagerie of colors within it that she had no name for.

"Wow..."

She moved her arm a little and was shocked by how much she could feel on the few blades of grass she grazed. When she tried to sit up however, she found her waist trust up into the air as new sensations filled her head; she tried to stop whatever was happening, or to move away, but her actions only causing whatever was under her to start flailing about. She heard Ayame move away, while the other melodic voice just started laughing his ass off.

"Oh, now _that_ is funny.", he said, chuckling.

"Tsukiko, you need to calm down; you're making your tails lash around; You're not used to your new muscles.", Hikari explained, leaning over the girl so she could see her.

Tsukiko's thoughts ground to a halt as the Demoness came into her vision. As a human, Tsukiko had thought Hikari to be beautiful and attractive, even before she had started thinking of her in a more sexual sense. Now, with a demoness' eyes, she saw that Hikari was beyond what she had seen before. Her face was full of emotion, stuck between concern and joy in such a way that Tsukiko would have mistaken it for serenity if she had still been using human eyes.

Hikari's eyes were what really stole her breath though; they were more like gemstones now than ever, and she found herself wanting to kiss her while staring into those eyes...

"That's good, calm down.", she repeated, drawing the girl from her trance. "Now, slowly, experiment with your new muscles.".

Finding herself unable to look anywhere but up, Tsukiko let her eyes close as she slowly tensed a few muscles to try and feel what happened. After a few moments, and more than a few odd sensations, she opened her eyes to see several fox tails lazily dragging across the grass beside her.

"Seven...?", she asked weakly, feeling drained suddenly.

"Nine; you're sitting on the other two.", Hikari giggled, smiling. Tsukiko felt heat rush to her cheeks at the sight; they were white as pearls, and Tsukiko could now see how sharp they really were. Part of her mind registered them as the teeth of a predator; something that could protect her kits. That odd thought sent her into a deeper confusion.

Muscling past it, she struggled to pull the other two tails out from under her. The effort left her on the brink of unconsciousness, but she saw that all nine of her tails rested beside her. She let her eyes close as she tried to catch her breath; it was embarrassing that it had taken that much out of her to move nine tails.

"D-d...Did Kenji get out?", She asked, voice low and raspy.

"...Rest. There's much we should talk about, and you should be well rested for it.", Hikari gently replied, brushing some of Tsukiko's now amethyst hair from her face. Her second element, for she seemed to have retained Kenji's knack for Fire, was either Water or Lightning.

Tsukiko didn't argue, and soon fell back into unconsciousness.

"So... she'll be alright... right?", Ayame asked, getting a little closer, though she kept a bit of distance. Tsukiko's new tails were roughly five feet long, and decently powerful if the ruts in the ground were to be trusted. She looked over at the juubi sitting on the other side of her best friend, and wondered how much power was stored in her six-and-a-half-foot tails.

"She won't die, if that's what you're talking about. Looks like her brain hasn't melted yet, so that's always a good sign.", The male said from his position a few feet away. Ayame and Hikari both sent him a glare, though he only flinched from Hikari's. "Geez, if that's how you treat optimism, don't let me go emo.", he muttered, low enough that only Hikari caught the words.

"If you want to keep your genitals, I would recommend being quiet.", she snapped, loosing a low growl that caught him off-guard. Ayame flinched at the sound, but Hikari took no notice.

The man tch'ed and looked away, pretending to study the scenery. Hikari, after making sure he had gotten the message, turned her eyes back to Tsukiko.

Hours went by, and Hikari made sure that her friend was comfortable; judging by her twitching, she was experimenting in her mindscape, and getting used to her new body and thoughts.

"Ouchies...", Tsukiko groaned, opening her eyes again. "My ass... is really sore."

"Nine tails came had to come from your tail-bone, Tsukiko-chan; it doesn't surprise me.", Hikari replied, holding back a giggle. Tsukiko really didn't understand how funny she was sometimes.

"How are you feeling?", Ayame asked, risking leaning over the girl and taking her hand.

"Sore... and my head really hurts...", she groaned, actually able to turn her head and look at her friend. "You know those stupid little flights of fancy that stray thoughts take you on? Imagine everything around you doing that, on top of thinking normally."

"Those are your instincts conflicting with your human knowledge; your subconscious is sorting out the information, mainly deciding which has to take priority in what situation. Due to all the action though, it's not quite as "sub" as it normally is; hence the headache.", Hikari explained. Now that Tsukiko was slightly more coherent, she was noticing that Hikari didn't sound as calm and sage-like in her tone as Tsukiko had thought when she was a human. In all honesty, she sounded like she was on the verge of freaking out, but there was relief conflicting with that as well.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep with this pain...", Tsukiko replied, sighing. She turned her head back to Hikari, feeling stunned again by her beauty; she was aware of her scent now as well, something akin to mountain air and apples mixed in with the earthy scent from before, and she was decently sure that Hikari had gotten courtship offers for more reasons than her tails. "So... what did we need to talk about?", she asked, drawing herself from her thoughts.

"Oh... well... I'm not sure how to put this...But...", Hikari started, searching for words. Tsukiko could see the light blush on her face; it was cute. "We... screwed up. I missed something when I was looking at the seal; something that should have been common sense."

"Whats wrong?", Tsukiko asked, wanting to sit up but not trusting her tails.

"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty. Miss me?", the male voice asked, and Tsukiko could feel it moving closer through the ground.

He was tall, close to six-and-a-half feet, and had a lithe and athletic build. His skin was fair, though Tsukiko saw a few scars here and there, marring his otherwise flawless skin; Given that he was only wearing a pair of black hakama with gold designs at the bottom and a red sash to hold them up, a lot of it was on display. She saw that his fingernails were long and sharp, like claws.

His face was sharp and predatory, and was framed by two bangs that fell to the middle of his chest; the rest of his crimson hair was pulled into a low pony-tail that fell to his tail bone... and just above a blood red fox tail that lacked a different colored tip. She looked back to his face and saw the two fox ears, as well as the crimson, slitted eyes. Just below his left eye was a single crimson marking, much like Hikari's, though he lacked any others from what she could see.

"K-kenji?", she asked, shocked.

"No, it's the bogeyman.", was the curt reply, fox-tail twitching.

"Be nice, unless you want the removal of certain dangly bits.", Hikari threatened.

"It's your fault I'm here in the first place Ms. Seal Queen!.", he shot back, getting a wicked growl in return.

"How hard would it have been for you to say "Oh, by the way, I wasn't dead or dying when I was sealed"?", she snapped, making Kenji visibly flinch.

"Can one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?", Tsukiko shouted, stopping the red kitsune's coming rebuke.

It didn't seem like either fox wanted to stop their bickering, but Hikari turned her attention back to Tsukiko and didn't give Kenji a chance to argue.

"The seal held Kenji inside of you like a sealing scroll, albeit a complex one; we were working under the assumption that "unsealing" him would let him die. Unfortunately, because your father and the Sandaime didn't weaken him in the slightest, he was technically perfectly healthy and alive in the seal, and not in spirit form like we thought. But unsealing him the way we did, he left eight tails of chakra behind, namely the Nibi tail and up, and he kept the Ichibi tail.", Hikari explained, tone apologetic; Tsukiko could tell, through a variety of factors that she would have never noticed otherwise, that Hikari felt bad that things had gone wrong, even if there was nothing wrong with Tsukiko because of it.

"Then... why do I have nine tails?", Tsukiko asked, looking over at her tails. "And why are they purple?". They were beautiful in her own eyes, and the white tips sat well with the new demoness.

"In order: as it turns out, between your naturally high reserves and the chakra I slowly fed you, you actually had enough to qualify for the Ichibi tail on your own. I regenerated Chakra in the seal, hence why the other eight are full. As for the color... well, you inherited my affinity for Fire, whilst your own element blended in to make the fur purple.", Kenji explained, arms folded. His tone and face were slightly sour. "Unless it's one of those rare cases where the color doesn't link to it's obvious element, your chakra affinity falls to either Water or Lightning."

"So... I was already as strong as an Ichibi?"

"No, you just had the same amount of chakra; You have no idea how to use it."

"Great; one more of me and we'd of had a Nibi", Tsukiko muttered.

"You didn't explain the tails to her?", Kenji asked, raising a brow as he looked to Hikari. The Juubi flushed and folded her arms, looking extremely childish.

"I was going to!"

"Baka-Kitsune.", Kenji sighed, facepalming. "Tails are one of two things to a demon; either a real, physical tail, or a unit of measurement. When referring to physical though, we tend to stick to Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, and so on to avoid confusion; mainly because two "tails" doesn't make you a Nibi."

"Do...what?", Tsukiko asked, confused.

"It's complicated.", Hikari sighed. "In short, each tail encompasses all the chakra before it, plus a number equal to it's level; add five for a Gobi, for example. Every demon starts out as an Ichibi, so to become a Nibi, the second level, they have to gain two more tails. That means three total. To become a Sanbi, they'd have to add three to the three they already had, meaning six. Yonbi would mean adding another four, resulting in ten total tails worth of chakra, and so on and so forth."

"So... a Yonbi has as much chakra as ten Ichibi's?", Tsukiko asked, trying to grasp it. "So... how many tails did I get from Kenji?"

"He kept exactly one for himself, whereas you already had one. In essence... 44 tails.", Hikari answered, having paused to do the math in her head. This was odd enough as it was; she didn't want to give Tsukiko a wrong number.

"So... I have the same amount of chakra, right now, as forty-five Ichibi's?", Tsukiko asked, shocked as Kenji nodded. "But wait... if Kyuubi means 45 tails... how many..."

"The minimum for Juubi is 55 tails, though given the power that comes with having the tenth tail... the maximum for demons is 54. To become a Juubi, you have to be appointed by Kami herself.", Kenji replied. "Hikari is lazy as hell, and she's always been that way; she doesn't like stealing or hurting people, and Kami saw that. She needed to name at least one Juubi to keep the balance, and what better being than the one demoness that would never use the power?"

"Given what the last Juubi did, I'm not too surprised that she picked me.", Hikari sighed.

"Last Juubi?", Ayame asked, feeling a bit lost and left out.

"In total, there have been three Juubi level demons. I'm the only one still here, so to speak. The one right before me tried to destroy the world, mainly because he went insane due to his element.", Hikari replied, "The more tails you have, the higher your connection is to an element; Balarym was aligned to forests and the earth; when humans began to abuse both, he felt the earth's pain and went berserk. He actually brought about the apocalypse for mankind, and it was only by Kami's hand that he was slain and the world revived. Humans sort of had to start from scratch though; my grandfather said it was funny to watch you running around in leaves and living in mud-huts."

"Hilarious.", Ayame deadpanned, part of her wondering if she would be committed to a psych ward if she told anyone about this. "Dare I ask about the first Juubi?"

"She's far past that rank now.", Hikari giggled. "She's the only one who really can go beyond it, though she's given me permission to."

"What?", Ayame asked, still confused.

"Kami, you idiot. Kami was the first Juubi. Given how powerful she was, it isn't surprising that you thought she was a goddess.", Kenji replied, sighing. "She's ancient, but she's still youthful and alive. Not to mention more powerful than most can imagine."

"Wait, Kami is a demoness?", Tsukiko asked, eyebrow raised. She felt her tails twitch in a quizzical way, making her wonder how much of her body was expressive now.

"Once upon a time you called all of us Gods or Goddesses. To a small village in Spring Country, Hikari is _still_ a Goddess.", Kenji replied. "It's human nature to fear things that are more powerful than you; sometimes fear turned to hatred, and we became Demons. Other times, fear turned to reverence, and we became Deities."

"So our entire view is wrong?", Ayame asked.

"Views and opinions are relative; it's your information that's shitty.", Kenji replied, scratching one of his vulpine ears and looking away with a bored expression. "Just as a Wolf is better than a mouse, We are better than humans."

"Oh thanks, captain Furball.", Ayame replied, eye twitching at the comparison. Kenji scoffed and folded his arms.

"Now now children, play nice.", Hikari sweatdropped. She had forgotten how childish Kenji could be; On top of his ego, it made the Kitsune hard to deal with at times.

"For the love of Kami, I'm a year older than you are dammit!", Kenji shot back, knowing that a single year didn't matter much to demons.

"And I'm more mature soooooohhh...", Hikari moaned, blushed. She looked over at her tails to see that two of Tsukiko's had reached over and wrapped around a few of her tails.

"S-sorry!", Tsukiko stuttered out, struggling to get the tails to let go; she wasn't used to the muscles yet. "Stupid tails...!"

Hikari could sense the sour look on Kenji's face as Tsukiko managed to untangle her tails from her own, and she was biting back a complaint of her own.

"You need to pay attention to your tails; their movements are going to be like breathing after a while, and you need to know how they'll react to things.", Kenji spat out, turning and walking off. "I'll be over there if you need me."

"You put up with him for how many years?", Ayame asked, looking down at her blushing friend.

"He's not so bad once you get to know him. Childish and egotistical, yes, but not a bad person.", Hikari sighed, longing for the contact that Tsukiko had initiated. Hopefully a distraction would come along soon.

"Oh... that reminds me...", Tsukiko started, looking up at Hikari, "Kenji told me about elemental manipulation... maybe you can start teaching me while I recover?"

"I don't think that's a good Idea... you've been asleep for two days, and you said you'd need close to three to be awake, let alone functioning.", Ayame cautioned, looking up at Hikari for an affirmative.

"Well... It's an exercise for your chakra and willpower. Your chakra is somewhat stagnant right now, so if you could get it moving then the recovery would go even faster. I can give you the basics, if you promise not to strain yourself.", she offered. In all honesty she was surprised that Kenji had mentioned the manipulation at all.

"Alright... I promise.", Tsukiko replied, voice still a little weak.

"Good. If it's alright with you, we'll start with earth. It's the least likely to do any damage to Sanctuary or Ayame. I'll be fine.", She added at the end, catching the look Tsukiko gave her. It gave her a sort of warm feeling to know that she cared for her well being as a Demoness. It meant her heart hadn't been changed.

Hikari pressed her hand to the ground beside Tsukiko and condensed some of the dirt into a small stone.

"Earth's representation is the Physical. In order to manipulate it, there usually has to be bodily motion or contact with the earth itself. For now, I want you to hold this in your hands and concentrate on etching a kanji into the stone. You can't use your claws.", Hikari instructed, setting the stone in Tsukiko's hand. The girl brought it up and held it with both hands in front of her face. "We can move on to bigger things when you're recovered. For now, we'll focus on manipulation via thought and willpower. Just don't focus on one or the other."

"Why?", Tsukiko asked, looking up from the rock.

"Thoughts are Wind, and Willpower is Fire. To manipulate one element, you ultimately need another. Focus too much on one, and you'll manipulate it instead of the rock. It... is difficult to explain, but you'll feel the proper balance after a while. The basics come quickly to everyone."

"So... what are Water and Lighting?", Tsukiko asked, trying not to look too intently at Hikari's eyes. They were so beautiful and gem-like now...

"Water and Emotion.", Hikari started, touching Tsukiko's thumb, before moving over to her index finger. "Fire and Will, Spirit and the Astral, Earth and Physical, Air and Mental.", she finished, touching her middle, ring, and pinky fingers in the same order. "Lighting isn't one of the main elements; most of the time it falls into Air's category."

"Oh...Alright.", Tsukiko replied, wishing her mind was functioning a bit better. The short responses she was giving were annoying her. How she had managed her earlier ones was beyond her.

With Hikari watching—a distracting thought in and of itself for her—Tsukiko held the stone in her hands and concentrated to the best of her abilities, trying to not just will it to change by thinking about the kanji. She damn near dropped the stone when some of the stone sunk into itself, leaving a rough Kanji.

"Not bad. That took an average amount of time.", Hikari praised, smiling.

"That... was less than ten seconds.", she replied, stunned when Hikari nodded.

"You're not manipulating that much earth; trying to do the same thing to a larger rock might be beyond you for a while.", Hikari warned, taking the small stone from Tsukiko's grasp. "You're a demoness now, and that puts you close to the elements. Were you still human, this same feat would take months of training to accomplish."

"So..."

"So the basics will always be easy. Getting the manipulation to the point of being useful in combat will take time. Even longer if you try to work on all of them at once.", Hikari sighed, turning the stone over to look at the kanji that Tsukiko had inscribed.

_Radiance_

Hikari was surprised, though a wiry grin spread across her lips. When Tuskiko closed her eyes for a moment and while Ayame looked down at her friend, Hikari slipped the rock into her pocket.

"Working with your own elements will be a faster process; if you practiced everyday for a few months, you'd have one of them combat ready. Given that you're a Kyuubi, your connection to Fire and whatever your other element is will be exceptionally strong.", Hikari explained, speaking while Tsukiko kept her eyes closed. "Still, it would be a good idea to stick to earth for now. At least until you heal up, that is."

Tsukiko turned her head and smiled at Hikari, letting her eyes open.

"Thank you, Hikari... for teaching me.", Tsukiko said, somewhat flushed. She was surprised to see some color to Hikari's cheeks as well.

"It's not a problem Tsukiko-chan. You are... I don't want you to hurt yourself, my friend.", was the touched reply, though Hikari felt a bit of pain in calling Tsukiko a friend when she wanted to be much more.

(Next day)

Tsukiko had to admit that elemental manipulation was relaxing; if nothing else, it kept her mind off of the pain and gave her time to adjust. The movement of her tails was slowly becoming a little easier, and looking around no longer gave her a migraine from sensory overload.

"Very nice.", Hikari commented as Tsukiko etched another kanji into a stone; it was more legible and neat than her first attempt, and she had also started to alter the shape of the stone as well. "Your skills are developing nicely."

"I've barely been doing this for twenty four hours, Hikari-chan...", Tsukiko replied, flushing at the praise. "I really don't think I should be praised just yet..."

"You weren't born with a connection to the elements, but you're handling yourself like a true demoness; your age suits where your skills are at, so praise really is due.", Hikari countered, smiling. Tsukiko smiled a little, and Hikari found herself once more questioning how it would feel to kiss those lips; Making out was a foreign concept to her, and one that seemed rather odd, but with Tsukiko it seemed rather enticing.

Her mind whisked itself away with yet another muse, this time recalling how soft the new Demoness's fur was. Her mind blurred with sensations and scents that gave her pause, making her wonder how long she could last without Tsukiko. Part of her wished to present the girl with a courtship gift, but she feared what might happen. After all, she doubted the girl knew anything of Courtship beyond what she had told her, and even then she wasn't sure that she was interested. Human thoughts and feelings... didn't translate well into Demonic culture, though the opposite was true as well.

"Hikari...Hikari!", Tsukiko said as loudly as she could, rousing the older vixen from her trance.

"S-sorry, my mind was elsewhere.", Hikari quickly replied, flushed. She could see Tsukiko's reaction to her own, and she staved off the urge to go on another flight of fancy.

"I...asked what you meant by my age suiting my skills...", Tsukiko asked, greatly enjoying the look on Hikari's face.

Ayame had to stifle a giggle at her friend's expression. Watching her manipulate earth was interesting, but how she and Hikari interacted was just as amusing.

"Oh, well you're very young for a demoness. Physically, demons mature like a human until the equivalent of the preteen years, at which point the aging process grinds down to a crawl. You look like you're in your late... oh, I don't know... two hundreds? That's about when formal training begins. They catch on at about the same rate you did, so you're not behind or anything. Actually, you're ahead by a few centuries if you want to be technical... you're also the youngest Kyuubi ever.", Hikari realized, smiling at her friend. "Congratulations!"

Tsukiko blushed and fumbled with the rock in her hands when it suddenly shifted form. She calmed herself for a brief moment to make it turn back into an oblong egg, like it had been before.

"I'm... not going to randomly screw with the dirt I walk on, am I?", Tsukiko asked, "Cause I don't have much balance normally, and if the ground is going to be having a seizure..."

"If you stay calm, you'll be fine. In all truth, you won't change the earth unless you willingly do so.",Hikari explained, smiling, "You'll find that you can traverse more difficult terrain with greater ease, but manipulation requires either conscious thought or a very powerful emotion."

"Which is water... right?", Tsukiko asked, hesitantly.

"Right; it'll become a lot simpler once you start practicing with all the elements. Knowing how to manipulate your chakra is something you don't really think about, it's just something you do; it's like that.", Hikari offered, smiling. Her heart fluttered a bit at the smile that was returned. "Now, let's keep practicing; I can tell your chakra has been stabilizing because of this, and I think you want to be up and functioning as soon as possible, right?"

"Yeah."

There was a certain silence as Tsukiko starting manipulating the stone in her hand; not the sort of dead silence preceding and accompanying an awkward moment, but more or less the kind that occurs when someone cannot say what they truly feel.

Little did they know, a bump in the road was fast approaching.

* * *

And after Goddess knows how long, I found this and finished it. I'll try to do the next chapter when I'm not doing something for college. And I'll edit this note if I forgot to mention something.

Ja Ne, My Freaky Darlings!


	6. Consequence

Evening everyone; Yeah, I'm not dead.

Yet.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I tried to get this out fast cause the last one was a bit of a cliffy; that's evil, and I hate the karma for evil things.

As a quick side warning, I've been writing original works, and It might take me a chapter or so to really get back into the flow of Fanfiction(The difference is rather staggering for me).

Chapter Start!.../pushes button/

* * *

**Chapter 6: First Consequence**

Tsukiko had to admit, she was teetering on the edge of freaking out. Kushina was standing in front of her, smiling with a kunai pouch at her waist.

Hikari had, a few minutes prior, shoved all the bracelets unto Tsukiko's wrists to hide her new Demoness features, and gave then ran into the distant treeline with Kenji close behind. Ayame had helped her into a clean set of clothes, both of them thankful that the Juubi had been kind enough to explain what was going on before dashing off; they were also thankful that Tsukiko had regained control of her body, thought she seemed a little off balance.

"Hey mom... why are you here?", Tsukiko asked, knowing that she wouldn't have entered Sanctuary without a good reason. Or maybe, somehow, Kushina had found out about Hikari, or-or-or...

"Just making sure you're okay.", Kushina replied, though her smile diminished slightly. "There's been an increase in bandit sightings around Konoha, and... well, your father and I want you to come home until we feel it's safe.", Kushina explained; she knew her daughter didn't like things like this to be cut short, but it was for safety's sake more than anything. Besides, there were only two more days of the week left.

"I'm good to go; we actually just got done cleaning the camp.", Ayame said with a smile; in truth, Kenji had deftly packed all of their supplies back into her bag, so it looked like they had done it.

"Were you two thinking of coming home early?", Kushina asked, brow raised.

"No, we were just going to move a little closer to the water.", Tsukiko said, keeping her voice as "normal" as possible. It sounded off to her though, possibly because she had gotten used to her demoness voice.

"Well I guess it's a good thing I showed up before you set up camp again.", Kushina smiled, motioning to the way out of Sanctuary a moment later, "Let's get going then; I want to get home before dark."

~xxXXXxx~

The walk had been surprisingly loud for Tsukiko; somehow she had managed to hold a conversation without revealing her lie, and without accidentally manipulating the earth below her. Hikari was right; she needed to think about it to do it, at least at first.

Ayame parted ways with them once they entered the village; her home was in a different direction. Tsukiko thanked Ayame for coming with her to Sanctuary, saying nothing specific. Kushina was convinced it was nothing more than a friendly interaction.

"So, did you train up there?", Kushina asked as they walked in the door, "Not that I want you to, but Sanctuary would make a good place for meditation."

"A little, actually. Mostly just playing with my chakra; seeing what I could do with it.", Tsukiko replied, getting an approving nod from Kushina. "Didn't make much progress though..."

"I'm sure Jiraiya would say something regarding "A single day does not a Hokage make", or something like that.", Kushina replied, smiling. It faltered for a moment though, coupled with a small tick on her forehead, "Or he'd say something perverted and I'd have to kill him."

Tsukiko stifled a giggle; it was always funny to hear her mother threaten her "grandfather", no matter how serious it should have been otherwise. It was a family thing, she supposed; that made it okay, or something like that.

It took Kushina a few seconds to realize that Tsukiko had stopped walking.

"Tsukiko-chan, are you okay?", she asked, seeing the somewhat disturbed look on her daughter's face. Tsukiko snapped out of whatever daze she had been in and nodded, smiling as the disturbed look vanished.

"I'm fine; just zoned out for a second.". It was a quick reply that didn't exactly calm Kushina's worries, but she decided to ask at the house instead of in the middle of the street

"Alright..."

The rest of the walk bore an awkward silence, and a weight seemed to fill the air around them as they neared the mansion. Upon entering, Kushina decided to go ahead and ask.

"Tsukiko, are you sure you're okay? You looked... disturbed.", Kushina had taken a moment to search for a kinder word, but found none. Tsukiko flinched; it was barely visible and hidden by the girl taking her pack off, but Kushina saw it.

"I'm fine. I just... it felt really weird, being away from all of you. I mean, I was close but...", Tsukiko started, realizing that she had become better at lying by omission and misdirection recently, "I... need to get used to it. I'm not always going to be within arms length of you guys. I don't know what made me think of it, but it sorta... threw me off."

Kushina walked over and gently pulled her daughter into a loving embrace.

"But no matter how far you go, you can always come home. Remember that.", Kushina whispered as Tsukiko returned the hug. It was turning out to be a rather silent one at that, but Tsukiko used that silence to reign in her tears. As a demoness, she realized, the home may very well disappear as time moved on. Her family would age and die.

"Mom, I love you.", she muttered, somehow too low for Kushina to hear. "I... need to go change. I want to relax for a little bit."

"Alright; I need to get to work on dinner, come to think of it. How does lasagna sound?", Kushina asked. Tsukiko nodded, feeling another pang at the thought.

She silently exited the embrace and went upstairs, leaving her mother to her own devices. Tsukiko opened her door and set her bag down, closing the door a moment later. The room seemed new to her, possibly because, even though they were muffled by the bracelet, her new senses were stronger than "normal".

"Well... I guess I should just lay down for a bit.", she muttered, actually nowhere near tired. A few steps toward the bed made her pause; something was shining in her peripherals. "I wonder..."

Tsukiko picked up the small lump of silver, focusing on what she had been taught. It definitely took more effort than stone, but the silver did shift in her hand, but she was slight surprised at what was in the metal.

"How did... oh wow, it looks just like...", Tuskiko muttered, eyes widening. It was a small bit of moonstone, the same color as Hikari's eyes; it brought forth the memory of Kenji's words on courting Hikari. Tsukiko brought the stone forth, biting her lip as she tried to mold it into a more suitable shape and size for what had come to mind. With the silver as well, all the needed resources were before her.

Terror and excitement at what she was planning filled her.

**(Sanctuary)**

"Are you going somewhere, Kenji?", Hikari asked, eying her old friend. It had been a week since Tsukiko had left with her mother and friend, and Kenji had been shifting between a sort of brooding and bouts of silence that didn't suit the demon's personality. Hikari had asked only because he seemed to be contemplating the cave that led out of Sanctuary.

"...I should have died.", he replied. Kenji shook his head and stood up from his crouching position. His tails were regenerating, albeit slowly; his total chakra was up to two tails from the one he had the week prior, though it wasn't quite at the three required for Nibi status. "I can't stay here. Not this close to Konoha."

"Are we going for an overly dramatic exit then?", Hikari asked, rolling a seed between her fingers. "Well... I'm staying, anyway. You can dramatically exit."

"I'm going to go get a sword, then I'm just going to disappear until my tails are back.", Kenji replied, scoffing at her words. "After that... I'll go back to winging it. Planning things out is what landed me in a seal."

Hikari sighed; she had hoped Kenji would stay longer. It had been so long since they had last seen each other... not since she...

"Are you leaving because of me?", Hikari asked, standing. Kenji laughed, shaking his head.

"I love you, Hikari. If I must do so at a distance, then it's best that I do so.", he replied, looking over his shoulder with a wry grin. "I've seen how you look at Tsukiko. How badly you want to give her that totem you made.", he added, shooting a glance at Hikari's pocket. The demoness flushed.

"I... she will not...", Hikari started, growling a moment later. "Just shut up Kenji. I don't need you mocking me through this."

"Like I said, I'll be at a distance. At the moment, I have no reason to be this close to either of you.", Kenji replied, shrugging. "I'll just steal a nice katana from Konoha and be on my merry way; maybe I'll come back around in a century to see how you two are doing."

"Don't push it.", Hikari shot back, baring her fangs. Kenji just laughed, regardless of how outmatched he was.

"Later."

Kenji had always been fast, and even with the chakra limitations of Ichibi-hood he managed to shoot off like lightning. Hikari could only hope he could remember how to be subtle.

**(Konoha)**

Kenji looked at the village before him; it seemed so different close up. After the mellowing years spent within Tsukiko, he could look upon something of human creation with some level of understanding. He still thought it would be better if they hadn't destroyed the forest where the village stood, but they had at least left most of the country's sprawling woodlands untouched.

A small, nagging feeling stirred in the back of his mind as he strengthened his illusion; humans couldn't see him with it on, so standing on the roof was a perfectly feasible option. He might not have been the best at illusions, instead training with swords at a young age, but he was confident he could duck into the weapon shop across the street, grab a decent katana, and then get out unseen.

"Good thing I had the time to get used to my body again while Tsukiko was resting up.", he muttered to himself, jumping down silently. Weaving through the crowd was simple enough, and the store's door was wide open. "Thank you Deus ex Machina...", he muttered.

Most of the blades were well forged, so Kenji only needed to focus on the exceptional ones. It was risky, but he sent out small wavelengths of chakra to determine which blade could best channel his energy. A few seconds and more than a few unnerved costumers later, Kenji grabbed a nearby katana; it was roughly four feet with the handle included; a black wood sheath, simple oval guard, and a black cloth over the handle. A gold cap and red tassel rested on the pommel.

Now all he had to do was walk out of the door and then out of the vil-

"ARGH!", Kenji roared as he was shocked in the doorway; some safety system against thieves, no doubt. He cursed himself for his stupidity; the illusion had been broken, and the shock had completely screwed up his chakra flow.

"What the-?", the shopkeep exclaimed, seeing the tall demon kneeling in his doorway. "Theif!"

"And that's my cue.", Kenji muttered, standing and running; the shock was preventing him from moving very fast though, and something—a couple of black blurs, to be specific—managed to actually knock him to the ground and clasp something over his hands. Immediately, he felt his chakra slow to a crawl, all but stopping and thus killing any hope of him escaping. If he still had the strength of a Kyuubi, thought even Sanbi level would have been enough, Kenji could have broken the bonds and ran. Unfortunately, that was beyond him at the moment.

**(With Tsukiko)**

"Why did you wanna see the interrogation room?", Minato asked, turning to face his daughter. It wasn't the first time she had asked to see some of the various facilities for the different ninja divisions, but he hadn't expected her to want to come here.

"Just... sorta bored. That, and you've shown me everything else.", Tsukiko replied, having become more comfortable with the fact that no human could tell she was a demoness while she wore the bracelets.

"Hokage-sama!"

The sound of something being slammed into metal resounded throughout the small room through the smoke of multiple shunshin; it had happened in an instant.

"This thief was caught stealing one of Mizuhara-san's chakra-blades. It... we are certain the thief is a demon.", a bear masked Anbu reported, kneeling before Minato as the smoke thinned. Tsukiko felt her stomach fill up with stones as the smoke finally dissipated entirely; Kenji sat in the metal chair, strapped in with chakra suppression cuffs. She saw, from the corner of her eye, her father's disposition change entirely.

"It's a Bijou.", was all he said, "Ichibi."

There was a small pause, and Tsukiko was suddenly sure she had been forgotten. Kenji seemed to be trying to break his bonds, but couldn't; apparently he hadn't recovered from the unsealing yet.

"Find me a suitable container; we can't have it running wild in or near Konoha.", Minato ordered; Tsukiko suddenly felt—and smelt, oddly enough—waves of terror rolling off of Kenji. Was he-

"NO! Don't seal me away again!", He shouted, straining at his bonds with wild abandon. Minato raised a brow, not understanding.

"Sir, there's an old shrine under the Hokage mountain; it would be a suitable place, should we post a guard.", an Anbu said, this time one standing beside the struggling Kenji.

"Scout the area to make sure."

"NO! NO! NOOOOOO!", Kenji roared, shaking the metal chair slightly; it was firmly bolted to the ground, however, and it was painfully obvious that he wouldn't be able to break free. Tsukiko had a feeling of dread when the wild eyed Bijou locked eyes with her. "Tsukiko! Please! Don't let them seal me again!"

THAT got her noticed again. Minato whirled around to face her, confusion on his face.

"Tsukiko, how does this demon know your name?", He demanded, taking a step forward. Tsukiko reflexively took a step back, never having seen her father like this.

"I-I-"

"Please! Don't let them lock me up again!", Kenji cried again.

Minato grabbed his daughter's wrist, stopping her from moving farther back.

"Tsukiko, answer me! This is serious!"

Tsukiko jerk her hand away, but a single bracelet came off with the action; Minato was left stunned as his daughter's eyes became the demonic amethyst that they truly were. They were still his daughter's eyes though; only the color and pupils changed, and his daughter still shone through them. It was a shock that made him pause for a moment, however, and in that moment Tsukiko acted.

"I'm sorry!", She shouted, dashing forward and around her father. Knocking the anbu away, only possible due to their surprise at her speed, she smashed the bonds that held Kenji to the chair. Before she could get to the large, bracer-like cuffs, the Anbu had righted themselves and charged in.

"Time to go!"

Kenji scooped up Tsukiko—a unique action due to the cuffs—and pushed past the suppression of the cuffs. He felt the ability to use his speed returning, and used it not a moment to soon.

The former Kyuubi seemed to be talking to her, but the rush of the wind silenced his words before they reached her. All she heard was something about Sanctuary.

~xxXXXxx~

Sasuke wasn't sure where Itachi was going in such a hurry, but he had left with all of his gear and a the look he used to have when he had to do a mission that would test his skills or sanity.

And as much as it scared him, Sasuke couldn't help but follow. He kept a distance, but it got difficult when he saw damn near every ninja in Konoha, Chunin and up, dashing in the same direction. Eventually, he just became part of the mob.

~xxXXXxx~

"Kenji, what are you-", Hikari started, seeing Kenji run up with Tsukiko in his arms. Kenji set the girl down, not bothering to ask why they were near the lake instead of Hikari's favorite tree.

"We have to go, like now!", Kenji half-shouted, urgency filling his voice. Hikari was somewhat surprised the desperation that laced it as well, and turned to Tsukiko. The girl's eyes were revealed; she had a feeling she knew what happened.

"Did someone see Tsukiko's true form?", she asked, looking at Kenji.

"I fucked up, alright; some weird fucking security system fucking zapped me, and I got caught; I don't fucking know what the fuck Tsukiko was fucking doing there, but I fucking lost it when they said they would fucking seal me again.", Kenji replied. "I called out to Tsukiko for help, and she lost a bracelet when her fucking father tried to question her about it. My fucking fault, now lets get the fuck out of here!", Kenji shouted, half hysteric.

"Wow... I can't remember you ever swearing this much.", Hikari muttered, giving Kenji an odd look.

"I... I think we need to go...", Tsukiko cut off Kenji's coming rebuke, voice quiet.

"..."

"We need to get out of here before they get here; I saw them following us as Kenji carried me-"

"There they are!"

"Another Demon!"

"Oh Bloody fucking hell!", Kenji shouted, turning to face the human shouts. His gaze met a small army of ninja.

"Tsukiko, stay behind me.", Hikari commanded, eyes narrowing. A single human was leading the charge while the majority remained behind; he was moving incredible fast for a human, more than likely appearing as nothing more than a yellow flash to human eyes.

"That's my father! D-don't hurt him!", Tsukiko cried as Hikari lept forth.

Something told Tsukiko that her words had reached Hikari; a wave of her hand had blown back all of the ninja, though Minato's speed seemed to have negated the wind. The second sign was the fact that Hikari wasn't tearing him to shreds with the raw strength and speed Tsukiko knew her to have.

Kenji seemed to be freaking out beside her still struggling with the chakra cuffs. The battle was occurring so fast that the momentary lapse had seen a dramatic shift. The fight seemed to slow to a crawl as Tsukiko looked upon it.

At least ten clones per limb restrained Hikari, who seemed to be in the middle of backstep; They could only hold her for a moment longer due to the surprise of the attack; their strength was nothing to hers. The moment, however, would see Minato's twin Rasengan combo slam into the Juubi.

Terror gripped Tsukiko as he neared, fearing for Hikari's life. All thoughts of her power as the Juubi vanished; all she saw was a loved one on the receiving end of a double S ranked jutsu. Tsukiko wasn't sure how it happened—perhaps the kawarimi activated only by virtue of her strong desire to get Hikari out of the way—but the two of them suddenly switched places.

Then, before that even registered, the most intense pain she had even experienced filled her abdomen and torso as her Father's eyes filled with unholy terror.

The clones were dispelled by the force of the impact, leaving Tsukiko sail backwards at high speeds. Something caught her, though not gently. All she could really think about was the pain at the moment.

"Tsu...Tsukiko?", Minato cried, stunned by what had just happened. The demon must have switched places with his daughter at the last minute to avoid injury. "Dammit! Get Tsukiko away from the demons so they can't use her as a shield; then get her medical attention! That's top priority!"

"Tsukiko-chan?", Hikari cried, laying the injured girl in the grass before her. Tsukiko looked outwardly fine, but her chakra was going haywire and Tsukiko saw the purple blood escaping from between the girl's lips. Her insides had more than likely been torn to bits by the violent assault that would have had no affect on the Juubi herself.

Hikari quickly went to work, drawing on old memories of using demonic chakra to heal; in this case, she had to burn away the mush inside of Tsukiko and then realign her chakra so that it would regenerate her organs. As long as Hikari kept a steady flow of chakra going, she could keep Tsukiko alive until her organs regenerated and-

"H-hey...Hikari...", Tsukiko rasped out as Hikari began; her tails all came around to point at the injured Kyuubi, starting the flow.

"Don't speak... just rest and don't go near any bright lights or tunnels.", Hikari replied, brushing some of Tsukiko's hair from her face; her hands would be free since her tails could manipulate this sort of technique better.

"I...need to do th-this...", the girl reached into her pocket, shakily pulling something out and setting it in the elder kitsune's hand. "I... hope you'll... have something for me later... I'm new t-to the who-whole courtsh-ship thin-ing.", Tsukiko said, voice muffled by blood and pain.

It was a silver ring with a moonstone set into it; it lacked detail, but Hikari could feel Tsukiko's chakra in it. Perhaps she had meant to work on it more later, and was giving it to her now due to the dire situation, but the act stunned the kitsune to the point her chakra faltered for a moment. Tsukiko's cry of pain brought her back to reality and she quickly adjusted the chakra. After that, she slipped the ring onto her finger, unable to do anything else.

She glanced up, wondering how she was going to fight off the ninja and heal Tsukiko at the same time. The sight of Kenji standing between the ninja and herself was unexpected, just as the new Nibi tail was.

"Just heal her. I'll give you some breathing room.", Kenji calmly said, demeanor changed. Hikari felt as though she was looking upon the Kenji she had known before she had rejected his courtship; the pride of the the Kitsune Clan's warriors.

The Fox-Fang Samurai, Trickster Asura, Wave-weaver; all were titles of the warrior that stood on the defensive before her now: Kenji Ginsora.

Hikari turned her attention back to Tsukiko, feeling confident in Kenji's abilities. He had no sword, but now that he had stopped acting like the Kyuubi, he didn't need one.

~xxXXXxx~

Sasuke watched as the red-demon broke the suppression cuffs with a simple motion, tearing the metal off calmly. The first ninja that arrived was blasted back by an invisible force; a deep cut marred his chest. The second, third, and forth all met the same fate, all while the demon simply stood there, unmoving.

"Sasuke? What the hell are you doing here?", a familiar voice called from his left. It was Kakashi. "You need to get out of here before you get killed!"

"That's Tsukiko down there!", Sasuke shot back before he could stop himself. "I can't just leave her here!"

"Sasuke, there's a small army of ninja who are stronger, faster, and more experienced than you right here; we'll get her back. Just get out of the way.", Kakashi replied firmly; he didn't want to see a student die because of heroism.

But what he didn't understand, or see at all for that matter, was the conflict inside Sasuke's mind.

He could only go off of what he had seen; Tsukiko had used Kawarimi, not the blue-demon. She had wanted to take that hit for it. Right now, it looked like the blue-demon was trying to heal Tsukiko; his sharingan was far from fully matured, but he could see the genuine look of terror and concern as the demon continued it's technique. The red-demon seemed to be doing it's best to keep the ninja away from them, but it could probably only go for so long before it ran out of energy. The look it the demons' eyes though... it was like Tsukiko would die if the blue-demon was interrupted.

"Sasuke, that's an order. Get out of here.", Kakashi repeated; the boy didn't seem to have heard him the first time.

"Hai...", Sasuke replied, turning around and walking towards the exit.

Kakashi watched the next wave of ninja dash in, not expecting to see Sasuke running with them. He swore and dashed towards the invisible line that the demon had drawn; any who crossed it were screwed in general, if the piles of bleeding ninja were anything to go by. Then, the last thing he had expected happened. This day was just full of weird shit happening too fast to keep up with.

Sasuke made it past the line while all the other ninja were blasted away, but the genin whirled around. He stood, sharingan spinning with a kunai in each hand, beside the red-demon.

"If they get to her, will Tsukiko die?"

"More than likely."

It was all that was said between the two. Both of them knew Sasuke wouldn't be of much help, and that this would bring hell down upon him, but Sasuke didn't care.

Listening was easy; defending his friend was right.

* * *

And there's the end of that. I pretty much wrote this in a day, so don't be too harsh. I know it's a bit... rushed, but I couldn't help it for some reason. I want to get past this part so badly...

Anyway, I'll try to update soon. Sorry that it's so short, but the next one... well, I can't say it'll be exceptionally longer, but it won't be shorter. I just couldn't continue this chapter any further.

Until next time, my freaky Darlings!


	7. Second Chance

Alrighty then; here's chapter number 7, my freaky darlings!

I'm very sorry that it took so long. Life's a bitch sometimes.

It's a bit shorter than I wanted, but I didn't want to start up the next "event" at the end. Have fun.

* * *

Her blood tasted like cherries, as opposed to the coppery tang a human might taste. Then again, a human would be dead.

Tsukiko felt something burning in her stomach, but it was far less intense that what had...

"_Wait... what... where...what happened?",_ She asked herself, opening her eyes.

The color of the sky and the relative darkness that cloaked Sanctuary let her know it was night; a long time since she had been knocked out. Then, it came back to her; the Rasengan, the burning pain, Hikari... Hikari!

"H-hikari-chan?!", Tsukiko croaked, suddenly realizing how parched her throat was; talking hurt. A hand tightened around her own.

"I'm here, Tsukiko-chan.", Hikari's voice assured her. As her vision cleared—Tsukiko hadn't realized how blurry it had been until the world started clearing up— Hikari came into view. The elder Demoness was leaning over her, looking relieved. "How do you feel?"

"A lot better than I should...", Tsukiko whispered, wincing. She flinched slightly when Hikari actually glared at her and growled.

"What were you thinking?!", she shouted, startling Tsukiko, "I could have taken that hit with no problem, and the recoil would have hit your father harder than the full attack hit me!"

"I-I...", Tsukiko started, feeling foolish for having done so. It didn't feel wrong, she realized, but foolish nonetheless. "I didn't want to see you get hurt... I didn't know you could take it."

Hikari's expression softened, sighing a moment later.

"Next time, trust that I can take a hit from a human, alright?", Hikari quietly said, "Your chakra wasn't dense enough to absorb the blow, and it won't be for some time."

"Hai... gomen...", Tsukiko rasped, throat a little dryer for some reason. She flushed and diverted her eyes. Hikari giggled.

"Here, drink this.", Hikari said through a smile. Tsukiko felt one of Hikari's tails gently lift her torso up into a sitting position. The Juubi had a small stone bowl in her hand, in which was a clear, cool pool of water.

Not trusting Tsukiko's motor skills, Hikari brought the dish to Tsukiko's lips and tipped it. The water seemed to quench the girl's thirst, at least in part, if her expression was anything to go by.

"Thank you, Hikari-chan.", Tsukiko sighed, feeling much better. She was a little surprised when Hikari slipped something around her neck. "Wha-...?"

It was a small amulet, and through some miracle Tsukiko was able to get her arm up to grab it and bring it up to inspect it. It reminded her of a totem the she had seen in a book once, but at the same time the ten tailed fox it depicted somehow looked exactly like Hikari—even in her humanoid form.

"Hikari, what is this fo-...oh...", Tsukiko started, stopping when Hikari held up her hand, ring gleaming in the starlight. "O-oh... oh..."

"I couldn't really think straight when you gave me the ring either, to be honest.", Hikari said with a wry smile. "I... I love you, Tsukiko-chan.". It sounded awkward, but it still sent a shiver down Tsukiko's spine; a very pleasant one at that.

"I love you too... Hikari-chan."

It was like some terrible weight had been lifted from her shoulders; Tsukiko and Hikari were content to ignore the world as they sat there, having a moment.

"Don't relent!"

"Oh Goddess-Dammit...", Hikari swore, shooting a glare at the hill. Tsukiko followed her gaze to see a small army of wounded ninja rushing them... and being repelled by a Nibi Kenji and a worn-out Sasuke.

"T-they're still fighting?! And why is Sasuke over here?! What happened?"

"Your fellow ninja are... persistent, if nothing else. Kenji has been keeping them at bay; your friend joined in after a while to help protect you. It's treason, if I'm not wrong, but it was appreciated.", Hikari looked sad for a moment, "If a ninja had gotten through before I finished healing you... it might have been the end of you."

"But we can't just let them... Kenji will-"

"He's not using lethal force, but he's making sure to weaken them as much as possible. I don't know which side will crack first though.", Hikari sighed, "You're not strong enough to resist capture, and if you get hit by anything..."

"Can't we at least show them I'm alright? They can't see me because of the grass, but maybe they'll stop if...well...maybe, anyway.", Tsukiko trailed off. It would take a miracle to end this without something tragic happening.

Tsukiko could hear her father shouting orders, and could feel his anger from this distance... wait...

"_It... he feels so... desperate? Does... does he think I'm dead?". _Tsukiko suddenly felt as though this entire debacle—her father's desperation, Sasuke's defection, and all of the injured ninja—was her fault. She realized, in some ways it was; that thought brought something forth from her core, where it had been bubbling in anger.

"STOP FIGHTING!"

Tsukiko's cry had come out with the boom of thunder, rolling over Sanctuary and flattening some of the grass near her. Whatever words that she had meant to say next fell from memory as she realized that all eyes were suddenly on her.

Kenji picked that moment to fall to the ground, laughing hysterically.

"O-oh that's fucking rich!", he managed to say though the bubbling mirth. Sasuke stared at the demon as though he had lost it's mind.

"Ts-Tsukiko?!", Kushina cried, overjoyed to see her daughter alive. When the Rasengan hit, she had feared the worst. She wanted to run over and embrace her daughter, but there was a demon in the way... not to mention the one the was supporting Tsukiko.

"Everyone, stop fighting!", Tsukiko shouted, voice not as thunderous as it had been a moment prior. "This... this has all been a misunderstanding.". Tsukiko realized how foolish it sounded, but she could think of no better way of saying it. "Kenji didn't kidnap me, and if you think Hikari threw me in the way of the Rasengan... I'm the one who used Kawarimi. Hikari healed me. Just... stop fighting. Don't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

There was a tense silence that weighed down the field like lead. Tsukiko watched as Itachi—bearing several cuts on his torso, more than likely from failed attempts at getting past Kenji—whispered something to her father. They had a small conversation that she couldn't hear, though it looked like Hikari could.

"Your Father is being told that this is no illusion, and that there is no genjutsu affecting you. If you want, I'll allow your mother to cross the line and see you for herself; I can see her near your father.", Hikari quietly offered, adding a small growl a moment later, "But I will not let you out of my sight. Not after what has happened."

Tsukiko almost wanted to argue it that her injury hadn't been intentional, but she realized that part of it was likely their freshly started Courtship.

"Alright...", Tsukiko replied, throat feeling a bit dry again. "Do you have any more water?"

"Yes, just let me make some more.", Hikari replied, expression softening. She took the bowl and aimed a tail tip to it, smiling. "You'll be able to convert air and earth to water one day; conversion is far more difficult than manipulation." After a few second she brought the bowl to Tsukiko's lips and let her drink again. "Kenji, let Tsukiko-chan's mother by."

"You sure?", Kenji asked, still laying on the ground. Hikari's nod made him sigh, jumping up a moment later. "Hey, which one of you is Tsukiko's mother?"

Kenji knew, from glimpses he got from Tsukiko's eyes and from her visit to Sanctuary, but he wanted to make sure that Kushina stepped forward and that it wasn't a ninja in a genjutsu; his eyes could tell the difference. Luckily for the sake to time, however, she did step forward.

"I am.", she shouted back, standing tall as Minato moved beside her. Gone was the kimono she wore at the house, and in it's place was the armor of a retired Anbu.

"You can go check on Tsukiko if you want." Kenji shouted, stretching; most of the ninja were too injured to come at him for the time being; there were plenty of medical ninja fixing everyone up, but it still took a bit of time. "Just you though. Anyone else who tries to cross is getting cut up, as usual."

Minato looked at his wife, not trusting the demon in the slightest. He had more than a few cuts to prove that the red-haired one was more powerful than a normal ninja by any standard, and he had felt the power of the blue-demon through his clones.

"Don't you dare tell me not to go.", Kushina harshly whispered, walking towards the line before Minato could speak. The dull murmurs of the gathered ninja died to silence as she neared Kenji, who was absently fiddling with a long blade of grass. Sasuke tensed up as she passed Kenji, but the demon did nothing as Kushina walked by him.

"If she tries something, she's going to get hit... hard...", Hikari whispered, eyes on the approaching mother.

"Hikari-chan..."

Hikari didn't respond, Kushina being far too close for her liking; at the moment she wasn't really fond of any human. The kunoichi stopped a few feet away, trying to judge if she could get any closer.

"Are you okay Tsukiko-chan? What...what happened?", she asked, biting her lip when her daughter broke eye contact. "Please... at least tell me you're alright."

"I'm...I'm fine. Hikari-chan is healing me." Tsukiko replied, not wanting to look at her mother. She felt some level of embarrassment at being shown for the Demoness she now was.

"...Can I get closer?" Kushina asked after a moment of silence.

"...If you try anything, you will not enjoy the consequences, regardless of your relation to Tsukiko-chan." Hikari replied, eyes locked on the older kunoichi.

Tsukiko felt her mother move in and kneel beside her, biting back tears when Kushina gently cupped her cheek and made Tsukiko look at her.

"Tsukiko-chan... please... tell me why you look like...like-"

"A Demon." Tsukiko finished, closing her eyes. The action squeezed out a single tear. "I made a deal with Kenji that let me have eight of his tails in exchange for his freedom. We didn't know he was getting out alive, even he was counting on dying be-because of the seal."

"Kenji? Is he the red-demon?"

"Kenji... he's... he was the Kyuubi."

Tsukiko could feel the shock from her mother, rolling off of her in waves and in the air around her.

"Tsukiko, Why would you do such a thing?! We told you time and again never to talk to the Kyuubi! And who is this... Blue-Demon?"

"We have names and I'd appreciate it if you used them.", Hikari cut in, gaining Kushina's attention in an instant. Tsukiko had a feeling that her contributions to the conversation were about to be miniscule. "His name is Kenji, and mine is not "Blue-Demon", it is Hikari Avaron. I'll also have you know that Kenji is a Nibi Kitsune at the moment, and it will be quite some time before he becomes a Kyuubi again. As it stands, the only Kyuubi in this valley is your daughter."

Tsukiko could feel her mother's gaze directed at the nine tails, but she still couldn't open her eyes.

"I'm getting the distinct impression that you don't like me."

"Your husband nearly killed my Tsukiko."

"_Your_ Tsukiko?"

If she had the muscle control, Tsukiko might have facepalmed.

* * *

Kenji shuddered, drawing Sasuke's attention.

"Is something wrong? Are they about to charge?", he asked, gripping his kunai tight. He barely had any chakra or energy left.

"I sense a disturbance in the force..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, no matter what you hear or sense, keep your eyes and body facing forward and don't fucking look behind you."

"Why?"

"Because hell hath no fury like a mother and daughter-in-law meeting for the first time over the body of the injured daughter who was hurt by the father." Kenji replied, keeping his eyes forward.

"Okaaaa-wait, what?", Sasuke asked, head snapping towards Kenji.

"Yeah... not my place to be discussing this sorta thing... but Tsukiko and Hikari are... I think the human equivalent is engagement." Kenji scratched his cheek with a single claw, drawing some energy from some nearby fires—which came from several failed fire jutsu—to heal up a bit.

"O-oh." Sasuke shakily replied, face a bright red. "Um... Hikari is the blue one then?"

"Yep."

"Okay." Sasuke waited a moment, not knowing why he had to build courage, or something akin to it, for what was on his mind. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha; I don't think you'll appreciate me calling you Red-Demon."

"Not really. Name's Kenji Ginsora."

"So... What's with...y'know...?"

"Tsukiko?"

"Yeah."

"Long stor-"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"Aaaaand there's the disturbance again." Kenji sighed, keeping his eyes forward.

"I'm... just gonna pretend that whatever is back there is a prerecorded message and keep guarding."

"Good plan."

* * *

"Itachi... can you hear them?" Minato asked, keeping his eyes on his wife, daughter, and the blue-demon.

"Hokage-sama... after that I'm not entirely sure I can hear_ you._"

"Just checking."

* * *

"I'll say it slowly since you didn't get it the first time; Tsukiko and I ar-", Hikari started, getting cut off by the furious mother.

"I heard what you said, I want an explaination!"

Honestly at this point Tsukiko didn't know if her mother was legitimately mad or if it was just the stress of the day compacted unto a discovery she probably didn't find pleasant.

"I fail to see why one should be necessary."

"Well I-"

"Mother, Hikari, knock it off." Tsukiko interjected, getting two sets of glares and returning them as best she could. "Hikari, please don't piss off my family if you can help it. Okay?"

"...I will try."

"Thank you. Mom... Hikari and I... " Tsukiko just didn't know what to say.

Kushina looked like she was about to respond, but she stopped herself as Tsukiko sat up.

"Tsukiko-chan! You can't be moving yet!" Hikari protested, though she couldn't complain when Tsukiko leaned her back against her chest. "You need to stay still, your organs haven't healed completely."

Kushina almost asked what she meant by organs, but she remembered the Rasengan and silenced herself. Seeing Tsukiko so happy with this...Hikari... brought forth some memories that she would rather remain buried.

"...am I going to get an explanation about any of...this?" Kushina asked, pausing to motion towards Tsukiko and Hikari.

"It's a long story, and I've had a really long day. Can we do this after we're sure my organs aren't jelly?" Tsukiko asked. "And when there isn't a small army of ninja trying to get over here?"

"Tsukiko, I'm being reasonable and I'm not leaving without some explanation."

"We met, I taught her a few things, we fell in love. Tsukiko-chan wanted to make a deal with Kenji to become a demoness so that she and I could be together, and it had the unforeseen consequence of letting Kenji out. Right now I'm trying to focus on keeping your daughter from being injured any further, and redundant explanations aren't furthering that goal." Hikari said, voice still agitated.

"You lis-"

"No, you liste-"

"Both of you shut up! I just had my organs ground up, burned away, and they're still trying to fix themselves; listening to you two argue about whose going to get to play doctor—and I know that's where this is going—isn't helping!", Tsukiko shouted, cutting both of them off. Kushina seemed slightly taken aback by the sudden outburst; unsure of how Hikari had reacted, Tsukiko shifted to look at the elder-demoness, who seemed more surprised than anything, thought seeing her ears perk and her eyes wide was cute in a way.

"...I'm sorry Tsukiko.", Kushina sighed, pushing her anger away; her daughter's safety was more important. She turned her attention to Hikari and addressed the Juubi, "We can argue later, healing Tsukiko is priority at the moment. How much did you do?"

"...I burned the mush to nothing, them used my chakra to keep her alive and nudge her chakra to begin the regeneration process; it was a delicate process, and if Kenji and..."

"Sasuke." Tsukiko added, realizing this was the first time Hikari had seen the boy.

"Thank you; if Kenji and Sasuke weren't holding the line, and a ninja got to me, Tsukiko might have died from the fluctuation in my chakra. As it stands you should be resting; your organs are barely functional right now, and most of them are probably still offline at the moment." She finished, directing the last bit at Tsukiko.

"Can you do anything else?", Kushina asked, knowing that they had plenty of medical ninja that could heal Tsukiko up quickly.

"Healing... is not my forte. I can only keep her stabilized while her own regeneration fixes her body."

"Which will take how long?", Kushina asked.

"Given that she hadn't even really gotten used to her new chakra to begin with, it's having a hard time fixing itself without targeting itself as part of the problem. I'd say a decent week before I'd be comfortable with her walking. She only got this far this fast with my chakra speeding up the process, but one demon can only take so much chakra from another before... bad things happen."

"Bad things like what?"

"Bad things like explosions. I can only offer stabilization at this point, which is basically just me keeping her chakra in her body so that it stays on task; organs, bones, muscle-mass... if it starts seeping out then it'll take even longer."

It wasn't a pleasant thought for anyone involved, and Kushina wasn't sure how either would respond to her coming suggestion.

"We have medical ninja that can fix most muscle and bone damage, though organs are... more complicated." Kushina offered. "If you let them come down here, they'll be able to help."

"The use of chakra in general is a bad idea, at least for a few days. I'm not sure if Tsukiko's chakra could tell the difference between human and demon, but I know it'll recognize it as foreign and attack it after my intrusion."

"Is there anything we can do at this point?"

"You can leave sanctuary so Tsukiko isn't any more stressed than needed. Or at least get the ninja army to leave." Hikari added after a subtle jab from Tsukiko's elbow. She knew that it must have taken effort to do it.

"That's not going to be easy to do." Kushina replied, casting a glance over her shoulder at her husband. "Minato is not going to back down so easily."

"Well he can leave or he can cause his daughter undue suffering." Hikari replied. Kushina sighed, an annoyed looked sweeping across her face.

"Tsukiko, please tell me she's nicer than this when people aren't looking."

"I don't think in-laws ever get along." Tsukiko replied, almost laughing at the confusion she could feel from both Hikari and Kushina.

"You're going to have to explain that when you're better." Kushina sighed. The ex-anbu rose up and groaned at the cracking that came from her legs; the years spent pushing her limits as a ninja were catching up a lot faster than she cared to admit. "I'll do what I can to get some of the ninja to leave, but you're going to have to give me something to negotiate with."

"Meaning you want Tsukiko to leave with you as soon as possible while the most elite ninja remain here to make sure we don't dash off with your daughter." Hikari deadpanned, getting another elbow in the ribs from Tsukiko; it's lack of strength was worrying her.

"I was going to word it a little more invitingly than that, but that's the gist of what I'm going to need." Kushina replied, folding her arms. "You said it would take a week for Tsukiko to heal, so in a week we want her out of Sanctuary and back in Konoha. During the week we'll keep ten anbu stationed here, for observation purposes."

"Five of the masked-ones. I do not want any more destruction to Sanctuary." Hikari replied. After a moment of thought, she added something. "And the one who fought to save your daughter's life, I think his name is Sasuke, isn't to be considered of guilty of any crime."

Tsukiko, at this point, had given up on really contributing to the conversation. She didn't have the energy to argue with a higher-ranked demon _and_ her own mother, though the former seemed to be arguing in her favor at least.

"I'll see what I can do about Sasuke and the anbu; are there any issues with Tsukiko's departure?" Kushina asked, slightly surprised that it hadn't been first.

"No. In a week she can go back to Konoha." Hikari replied flatly, as though the asking had almost annoyed her. The answer surprised the two kunoichi though.

"Alright... I'll inform my husband and we'll see where it goes from there."

Hikari and Tsukiko waited for Kushina to be out of earshot, a great distance indeed for an ex-shinobi, before they began speaking.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want anything else to happen to you." Hikari apologized, voice once again smooth, if a little too close to tearful for Tsukiko's liking.

"It's alright. I can't really talk for myself right now." Tsukiko replied, trying to smile at the silver-eyed Juubi. "Or at least walk for myself."

"I hate to say it, but regeneration is a bit like a talent; it gets better the more you use it, so if it's any consolation it'll be fairly quick after this..." Hikari offered, forcing a smile. "But next time, trust that I can handle myself in a fight; I am the Juubi, after all."

"I'm allowed to worry, thank you very much." Tsukiko replied with mock anger; she failed to suppress a giggle when Hikari lightly cuffed her upside the head with a tail.

There was a moment of silence while the two watch Kushina speak to Minato and the gathered ninja, the joy of the prior moment seeming to turn to sand the quickly slipped through their fingers.

"How are the negotiations?" Tsukiko asked, tone reflecting the silent mood switch. She felt a deep sigh within Hikari's chest.

"Well enough. Minato isn't entirely sure we won't kill people, among other things, but he's willing to forget a lot of what a ninja calls common sense to get you back." Hikari replied, mentally shouting at herself to figure out what had gone wrong with their little moment.

"Hikari... why did you agree to let them take me back to Konoha so easily?" Tsukiko asked, voicing the concern that had been bugging her since it arose. "Are we not supposed to be...I mean I don't know how Courtship really goes still..."

"Only an idiot makes a deal with a fox, to be perfectly honest." Hikari replied, almost offhandedly. A second later she had her lips right next to Tsukiko's ear, breath tickling her skin. "I said you could go back to Konoha, and they said they wanted you back. Technically you're not required to go, and if you want to be a bit more realistic, you never agreed to it anyway."

"Oh wow... foxes like loopholes I take it?" Tsukiko asked while an amazingly pleasant shudder rand down her spine. She felt Hikari shrug.

"We just know how to exploit what people say." she responded, moving her head away from Tsukiko's ear somewhat reluctantly. Hikari wasn't sure if Tsukiko was aware, but underneath the scent of her shampoo was her natural—and extremely pleasant—scent.

"I don't know if I want to tempt pissing my parents off though..." Tsukiko muttered, sighing a moment later. "I mean, I want to stay out here with you, but... I mean I still love my parents and I still have friends in Konoha..."

"You can go back if you want, but I'd prefer to go with you if you don't mind." Hikari replied, reaching to put her arms around Tsukiko's waist and stopping half-way to retract her arms.

"No, you can do that if you want; I wouldn't mind!" Tsukiko hurriedly said, a little annoyed that Hikari hadn't put her arms around her.

"I'd love to, but your organs wouldn't like me doing it." Hikari replied, sounding a bit put off.

"Oh."

"We can... I think the word is cuddle... later when your organs are healed." Hikari replied, smiling despite the fact she knew knew Tsukiko wouldn't see it. She was a little tempted to bury her face in Tsukiko's hair, but she wasn't sure what Tsukiko was really okay with; they had spoken of courtship and mates before, in passing due to Tsukiko being fairly skittish with the topics, but Hikari wasn't sure how humans were raised to handle such things. And besides that-

"Hikari, do Demons speak another language? You take your time with Japanese sometimes." Tsukiko asked, interrupting Hikari's thought trail.

"Hmm? Technically each species can communicate the same way the animals that we are similar to would, but are you asking if there's a universal language for us?"

"Yeah."

"There are a few for different regions. I can teach you the one from my home in Spring Country if you'd like. I haven't spoken Fire Country Language in ages; it's where the Kitsunes make their home. Kenji could probably teach you, but I don't think he left his fox form long enough to really talk to anyone for quite some time, so he's probably rusty too."

"Is it... hard to learn?" Tsukiko asked, not really sure if she wanted to commit the time to learning a new language. She reminded herself she was a demoness now though, so learning a demon language or two would probably be a good idea.

"Meh, it varies. Your mother is heading back to tell us your father wants seven anbu here, not five. Just thought you should know."

"I'm going to be done healing by the time you guys are done regenerating." Tsukiko muttered, getting another playful swat from Hikari's tail. "As soon as I figure out how to do that, I am swatting the shit out of you with all nine tails." Tsukiko taunted, tone playful enough to get her shoulder buffeted by another tail.

It was going to be a long night, but at least she could spend it with someone so precious to her.

* * *

And there's the long awaited chapter. I am so sorry it took so long to get out; A lot of shit was going down in my life and I didn't have much time for anything other than drowning my sorrows in DFO and my girlfriend(Don't kill me for saying that honey, I love you!).

Speaking of my girlfriend though, you can all thank her for making me pick this story back up. She read it and the smiles and emotions it brought upon her were motivation enough to get my shit going again.

Much love to all of you, my most Freaky Darlings. I am in College now, so I can't say anything for an update schedule, but I'll try to get the next chapter out asap.


	8. Return

Back from the grave, so to speak, my most Freaky of Darlings!

Time flies when you're bashing your head into desks at college, so you'll have to forgive the delay. My current plan is to finish this story, then the Bloody Maelstrom Redux, and then Naruto: The Elemental. Something like that.

I haven't touched this story in ages, so let's see if I have any clue what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm gonna say no.

* * *

"I'd like to make it known that I'm allowing this under protest." Minato remarked, sitting down on the couch and leveling a tired glare at Hikari and Kenji.

"If it makes you feel better I think you look funny too." Kenji replied, running a hand through his hair. "I'm only here because I personally believe I owe Tsukiko; the moment I think I'm free of that debt you can kiss my ass goodbye."

"Can you two just promise me that you won't try to kill each other?" Tsukiko asked, sinking into the chair when the comment earned her the attention of her parents. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, glad that they had given it to her; her wounds had healed enough for her to come back, but her clothes didn't have the same recovery. It was another layer between herself and her surroundings though, and it was an odd comfort.

"Tsukiko, since you're not on the verge of dying and we seem to have some time…" Minato began, shifting to rest his cheek on his fist while Kushina straightened herself a bit, "Could you explain…this?"

His words had been accompanied by a vague gesture in the general direction of Hikari, Kenji, and Tsukiko's tails, which were draped over the back of the chair where Hikari stood.

"Uh… which part are you talking about?" Tsukiko asked sheepishly, hoping that her parents were too tired to muster any real anger. It seemed they weren't quite burnt out enough to ignore the three bijou in their living room though.

"I'd like an explanation for everything honestly, but I'll settle for why the hell you decided to ignore everything I've told you and chose to do…this. Why? What possible motivation fueled this?" Minato asked, containing slightly harsher language in favor of some kind of diplomacy.

Tsukiko took a breath, looking between her parents for a moment before looking back at Kenji and Hikari. The silver-eyed kitsune put a reassuring hand on Tsukiko's shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze; Kenji was occupied with looking at the various pictures on the walls, no doubt enjoying being able to see through his own eyes again. Tearing her attention from the two demons, she turned her gaze back to her parents, not wanting to test what little patience they had left.

"A couple months ago, when I was really down because I couldn't seem to get anything right, I decided to go to Sanctuary after training. When I got there, I met Hikari; I didn't find out she was a Bijou until later, but she saw that I was really bummed and offered to help. When I told her I couldn't seem to find a style as a ninja, she showed me the Kaze Mai. I started coming every day, training with her and… I started to crush on her without really realizing it." Tsukiko admitted, turning slightly red and unconsciously bringing a few tails down and across her lap.

"I take it that's not all?"

"No. Humans can only do so much of the Kaze Mai; I'd be able to get it to the point of being useful against mid-chuunin level opponents, but it'd be kinda useless after that."

"And I take it Hikari was the one to mention that?" Minato asked, accusation fairly plain; Tsukiko found herself being cut off by the elder fox.

"The body of a human can be enhanced via channeling chakra; by doing so, they can achieve feats of speed and strength that normal humans couldn't dream of. The issue is that their bodies can only withstand so much of that before they begin to break down; on top of that, their minds can only take in so much information at once." Hikari explained, maintaining eye contact with Minato. "Humans and Demons are, technically speaking, the same in this manner. The difference is that our bodies are naturally full of chakra, and can channel chakra from external sources with little effort. Because of the constant "pressure and flow", so to speak, we can push ourselves further than humans; Our chakra is also less damaging to us proportionately than human chakra in a human body, on top of allowing us to manipulate our bodies to move with flexibility, balance, and precision."

"So for the sake of summation, for the Kaze Mai to be effective against higher level opponents, you need a body that can take extended periods of chakra enhancement and a mind that's used to handling the enhanced perception. Without the latter you wouldn't be able to keep up with higher level ninja, and without the former you wouldn't be able to dodge the attack at all." Kushina remarked, somewhat impressed; None of them had made great first impressions, but at least they were being civil and she was glad that her daughter's "friends" weren't being difficult.

"More or less. Demons are naturally faster and stronger than most humans, but there have been plenty of humans who outmatch lower ranked demons, or higher ranked ones who underestimate humans. You're tenacious little fuckers when you wanna be." Kenji chipped in, turning away from the various paintings and pictures.

"Learning half of a style that might get me killed if I misjudge an enemy isn't the best strategy." Tsukiko sighed. "I'd like to tell you that I didn't do it for power, but I guess that's what it comes down to. If I became a demoness, I could finish learning the Kaze Mai, and I'd have a leg up on the competition in terms of strength and speed, not to mention chakra. I can't do much good if I'm dead."

Tsukiko bit her lip, not liking how disturbed her parents looked at her logic. Minato hid it better, but she could tell that he did agree on some level.

"Explain how you became a demoness then." Minato sighed. "And before we go further, I'd like to remind you that you're still my daughter. I still love you, but have no doubt that I am probably going enact some disciplinary measures when I get my head straight."

"I still love you too Tsukiko, but trust me when I say you'll be lucky if all we do is ground you for… a year or so…" Kushina added, rubbing her temple.

"What is "ground"?"

All eyes turned to Hikari, who seemed slightly puzzled by the term.

"I'll explain it later. Right now I think they'd prefer to stay on topic." Tsukiko replied, sending a light smile up at Hikari. The Juubi returned the smile and resumed leaning on the back of the chair.

"Thank you Tsukiko; I think we all need some sleep after this week." Kushina offered, getting an awkward chorus of agreement.

"Would you like the summarized version then?"

"I need some level of detail." Minato replied, sitting up straighter.

"Well..." Tsukiko started, realizing that they hadn't explained that Kenji used to be the Kyuubi. "Okay, do you promise not to flip out?"

"Why would I flip out?"

"Because Kenji used to be the Kyuubi that was sealed in me."

"That is indeed a viable reason for me to flip my shit. I'm going to restrain that in favor of listening, and you had better thank your mother for teaching me patience over the years; if this had happened a few years ago, shit would be getting flipped right now." Minato's voice was terrifyingly calm as he waited for the rest of the story.

"Okay, to sum up that part of it, I went inside my mindscape and talked to Kenji about the seal; Hikari had told me to do it, figuring that Kenji would know more about the internal part of the seal. The way we figured, we'd cut part of the internal seal and set Kenji's spirit free while I kept the chakra. He'd get to die, go into the reincarnation cycle, and I'd get turned into a demon due to the sudden influx of his chakra. As you can tell, the latter worked, but there was a small glitch; I ended up with pretty much ALL of his chakra, making me a Kyuubi, and he wasn't dead when you sealed him, so when I cut the seal… well, now Kenji is running around out here."

"In my defense, I was just going to steal a katana and just leave Fire Country in general. Didn't know about the security system though, and when I heard seal… well… I freaked. You try having your entire being sealed into the mind and chakra system of a different species after centuries of freedom." Kenji muttered, "Tsukiko saved me from that fate, so I'm in her debt for a while."

"So you lied about wanting to camp out at Sanctuary for that week?" Kushina asked, using a dangerous voice unique to mothers. Tsukiko sunk back into the chair a little further. "Don't even try to argue semantics."

"Back to the unsealing, if you don't mind." Minato prodded, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"I inspected the seal form the outside, applying small amounts of chakra, while Kenji observed from the inside and occasionally exercised some of his chakra; Tsukiko let him use her ears and related what he was saying to me. The cut on the internal seal was diagonal, and it was supposed to… well, not do this." Hikari sighed, brushing some of her hair from her face.

"And your angle in this?" Minato asked, turning his attention to Hikari.

"I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the meaning of that."

"Why did you want my daughter to become a demon. Why help her at all for that matter?"

"Because most humans wouldn't be able to talk to me; she could for some reason," Hikari replied, "And after wandering so aimlessly for so long, just having someone to talk to was nice. I helped her because I just like helping people. I… suggested the transformation mostly for the sake of her survival; I didn't want to bet her life on the chance of her finding a style that would still work when the Kaze Mai started to fail."

"Mostly?"

"Your daughter is very beautiful." Minato was almost surprised to see a bijou blush, though he had to give her credit for maintaining some kind of eye contact and composure when she said it. "I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want her to be a demoness for the sake of courting her, but I'd like to believe her survival in general was more the deciding factor. My cloak is made of a special cloth that can hide a single attribute of a person and the cloth will listen to my commands; I tore off some material and made bracelets for Tsukiko to hide most of the aspects of her transformation. I was going to use the time they would afford us to help Tsukiko master her new chakra and come up with some viable excuse that would get her out of terribly hot water, so to speak, if it ever came to light."

"As you can tell, we didn't really have enough time, though I guess if I wasn't so intent on getting the fuck out of here it wouldn't have been an issue." Kenji added.

"And why exactly did a Bijou need to steal a sword to leave?" Kushina asked, having a small realization in the back of her mind; this was amazingly akin to interrogating and chastising a bunch of unruly teenagers who had gone out and done something stupid.

"I was a swordsman for a long time before I went a littlenuts and decided to get as much power as possible; I don't particularly need a sword, as you saw during that little skirmish, but I forgot that I could do that. I hadn't even been out of beast-form for damn near a millennia."

There was a fairly awkward silence that settled in after Kenji finished, leaving everyone waiting for someone else to speak while they concocted ways to break the silence.

"Tsukiko told me that you hate Bijou."

Minato's gaze had fallen to the floor in thought, though that comment from Hikari had made him snap his gaze back up.

"She told me why, or at least the reasons you had given her." Hikari continued, shifting slightly. "I don't know why you've been kind enough to listen to us, because fatigue has rarely stopped humans from doing what they believe, but thank you."

"I'm listening because you were scared, because he was scared." Minato replied, looking between Hikari and Kenji. "Ninja don't survive long if they set themselves in stone; for most of my life I thought they were simply engines of destruction without remorse or emotion. When my rasengan hit… I saw fear and empathy. Don't think that this means I trust you, but you two did everything you could to keep her safe while I was too blinded to see what would happen if my plans succeeded. I will say that I'm sorry for that, and things that were said in the heat of the moment."

"I'm not going to ask you to forgive me." Kenji quietly added. "No amount of apologies can right what I did."

"No, but there is something that benefit everyone."

"In what sense?" Hikari asked, ears perk.

"You two intend to stay in Konoha, correct? After that fiasco in Sanctuary there isn't a chance that people would believe you just left and you can stay hidden. I'm also not going to ask that anyone live the rest of their lives in secrecy." Minato shifted forward and rested his chin on laced fingers while he propped his arms up on his knees. "If you two are going to hang around here then you're going to have to contribute something useful; I was thinking of basically employing you two as ninja."

"No. That would heavily disrupt whatever politics and military balancing acts are in play." Hikari quickly answered, tone firm as she stood up straighter.

"Not to mention it might invite a few assholes form "our side" to come swaggering in just for the sake of causing trouble." Kenji added.

"Then what would you recommend? I'm not entirely sure I have the manpower to _make_ you leave, and you can't just freeload."

"Why don't they just stay here and protect Konaha?"

Everyone turned their attention to Tsukiko, who suddenly felt as though sinking back into the chair was a good idea.

"That would still imbalance things." Kenji replied in a bored tone, not any fonder of politics than he had been with the Kitsune Clan.

"Well, if you two are living here, it's a temporary home, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Is it so bad if you two just make sure it isn't wrecked? If the other nations catch wind of you two, it might sorta scare them into keeping the peace, and you guys won't have to really do anything. If that's not enough maybe you could… I don't know, teach or something. You're centuries old; both of must have learned a lot over the years."

There was a silence as everyone took in what had been said, contemplating the possibilities.

"Technically speaking, humans can learn to do most of the things we do; not on the same level, but still." Kenji muttered, biting his knuckle. "And humans did live in harmony with us at one point. Of course we weren't called demons at that point, but still."

"Personally I'd be more concerned with protecting Sanctuary, but I've seen how ninja battle each other; on a larger scale any attack on Konoha would most likely damage Sanctuary or at least threaten it." Hikari added, sighing at the logic. "If you promise that we can remain here, we will protect Konoha from threats we deem dangerous enough. If your ninja can handle it, then we will not intervene."

"Will you make efforts to at least remove civilians from danger?" Kushina asked, wondering how they were going to run this by the council. Ultimately they had about as much power over the two Bijou as Minato did, but a divided leadership would make the people less accepting of the decision.

"I don't have any problems with that. Kenji and I will, of course, defend ourselves however, and in that case we'll eliminate that particular threat."

"And if it's someone from Konoha?"

"Then we knock them out and keep walking." Kenji replied. "I doubt Hikari and Tsukiko will have as much trouble; people just have a hard time not liking Hikari and Tsukiko is the Hokage's daughter. As long as a majority aren't overly butthurt about this they'll be fine."

"I'm going to skip over the fact that you used to be the Kyuubi; All the council needs to know is that you're a friend of Hikari's. We don't need more trouble than we're already going to get." Minato got nods of thanks from the three.

"If that's everything, I'd like to get to sleep; I've missed so~ many naps." Hikari complained, stretching.

"Laziest. Bijou. Ever." Kenji muttered, slapping his forehead. "Really? After all of that your first thought is about napping?"

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try and be cute enough to bum some food."

"Good luck with that scruffy." Hikari laughed, pointing at Kenji's chin and the bit of stubble there. Kenji's retort was to make a flicking gesture at Hikari, laughing when her head tilted back like he actually flicked her. "Oh it's on fluffy!"

"Come at me puff-ball!"

"Knock it off!" Tsukiko shouted, voice actually shaking the house a little. The two Bijou halted their motions, instead doing their best to contain laughter.

"That is still hilarious!" Kenji roared with laughter, unable to contain it as well as Hikari.

"Why is that so funny?" Kushina asked, looking around briefly to make sure nothing had fallen.

"Inside joke." Hikari replied, taking a breath to calm herself while Kenji kept laughing.

"Well can you at least tell me?" Tsukiko deadpanned, still unsure of why this was such a source of amusement for the two.

"It's just adorable when you use that thundering voice." Hikari cooed, ruffling Tsukiko's hair playfully.

"Not to end a moment, but there is one thing we need to discuss before everyone goes to bed. Well, you can leave; this is for Hikari and Tsukiko."

Kenji opened his mouth for a moment, raising a finger to protest, but after the two second delay way over he turned on his heel and walked off, closing his mouth and lowering the finger after he started moving.

"Does he even know where he's going?" Minato asked, looking at his wife.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Kushina sighed, standing up and walking after the wandering Nibi.

"Right, Hikari, take a seat." The juubi was slightly confused, but she shrugged it off and walked around to the chair near Tsukiko; there was a small table between them, but there wasn't a closer seat. "Comfortable? Okay, who wants to guess what I'm about to say? No one?"

"Are you about to explain what grounding is? I'm still confused." Hikari asked, getting a sigh from Tsukiko.

"Close. The three of us are going to have a little conversation about ground rules; I don't know the details of this "courtship", but it's basically dating, right?"

"We're supposed to spend a lot of time together, annoy each other on occasion, and otherwise cuddle." Hikari replied, slightly unsure of what was going on and somehow slightly intimidated. She realized a moment too late that she was basically getting between Minato and his little girl.

"Dating, perfect." Minato sighed. " Okay, how long has this been going on, and be honest with me, how far have you two gotten along?"

"Dad!"

"Look, I just had a lot of things sprung on me and I reserve the right to sit down and lay out some ground rules; there's not a lot of point in some rules if they're just restricting shit you've already done."

"Umm…" Hikari started, feeling heat in her cheeks, "Technically our courtship started right before I started healing her from the rasengan hit; she gave me this as the courtship gift, and when she woke up I gave her mine in return."

Hikari held out her hand so that Minato could see the ring while Tsukiko fished out the totem that Hikari had given her.

"Okay, so not even to first base."

"Dad!"

"What is this base you speak of?"

"Making out."

"Oh, that, no, not yet." Hikari mumbled, "Wait, are there more bases I should be aware of?"

"Don't worry about those." Minato interjected, sitting forward. "Okay, Tsukiko, you've got an official curfew now, congratulations. Be back home by 9, and if you two want to go anywhere on a date, you ask me first."

"Yes father…" Tsukiko mumbled, sinking into the chair a bit more, face bright red. Hikari managed to nod an affirmative.

"Alright, since Hikari and Kenji are probably going to live here, let me set a few house rules: if Hikari is in your room with you, the door is to stay open, and no sleeping together."

"Okay, that one I have a problem with." Hikari cut in, "Sleeping is wonderful, why can't we sleep together?"

"Because two people being in the same bed opens the door to other things."

"We can't have sex."

"…Okay, waiting for an explanation on that one."

Tsukiko took a breath and answered before Hikari could; she felt like she needed to say this part.

"During courtship you're not allowed to have sex until it's over and you're bound to that person—married is the word we'd use." She explained, really hoping that her father wasn't that intrusive with questions.

"So you two, by the customs of demons, being abstinent until after marriage?" Minato asked, pausing for a moment, "Before I jump for joy, what qualifies as sex?

"Any…insertion…" Hikari mumbled, feeling like her cheeks were on fire. "But I do have a few rules of my own that prohibit a few things, and Tsukiko is more than welcome to instill her own rules."

"Such as?"

"They're… between Tsukiko and I." Hikari sighed, "I don't suppose you'll take my word for it when I say we're not going to be doing anything of that nature for a long time."

Minato sighed and stood up, cracking his back before taking a deep breath. He looked between the two and, after a overly dramatic pause, nodded.

"The door stays open. I'll give you two rope, just don't hang yourselves with it. Oh, and Hikari?" Minato began, getting the Juubi's attention, "If you hurt my little girl, I will end you. Understood?"

"Yes sir"

"Great. Well, I'm going to go crash out now; sleep well girls. And only sleep." Minato said, making an "I'm watching you" gesture as he left the room.

"That…went well?" Hikari asked, far more of a question than a statement. Tsukiko nodded, noting that they were both fairly freaked out.

"Well my parents didn't disown me because I'm in a homosexual relationship with a Bijou after accidentally becoming a Kyuubi, and they don't seem to be putting any abnormal restrictions on our relationship… so yeah, that went fantastic." Tsukiko replied, laughing with a sort of nervous relief. "Do you want to eat something or just go to sleep? I could go either way."

"Food would be nice but I'm really tired…" Hikari yawned the final word, dragging it out for a few seconds and giving Tsukiko a good view of her canines. Some part of her brain decided to remember that Hikari was to bite her with those fangs one day; human confusion and demonic anticipation were ultimately an odd feeling when they mingled together.

"My room is up the stairs and down the hall to the left; second door on the left. You can head on up and try to figure out how we're going to situate ourselves and I'll bring a little food up."

"Okay."

Hikari stood up and offered a hand to Tsukiko, helping her up and pulling her into an embrace. The girl's new height stopped her from having her face planted in Hikari's breasts, but Tsukiko liked this new spot above them, where Hikari could rest her chin on her head. Tsukiko did her best to wrap her arms around her lover without losing the blanket preserving modesty.

"This is nice." Tsukiko whispered, tightening her grip for a moment before pulling back with a regretful smile, "Head on up; I'll get the food and be up in a second."

"Okay." Hikari gave a tired smile, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Tsukiko felt a sudden levity as Hikari walked off towards the stairs, hoping that the feeling would never diminish. She didn't know why it meant so much to her when Hikari said that, but she could only hope that she gave the Juubi the same sensation.

After re-wrapping herself and taking a breath to steady herself, Tsukiko started off towards the kitchen, planning on grabbing something quick and heading up to the room. As she rounded the corner that led to the kitchen, she saw her mother and Kenji sitting at the table, talking about something.

"Getting a snack before bed?" Kushina asked, turning her attention to her daughter.

"Yeah, I just wanted something quick that I could take to my room; I'm tired."

"I made up some sandwiches when Kenji and I came in here; I was under the impression we were going to come eat before we slinked away to opposite corners of the house for the night." Kushina sighed, "Take two and go on to bed, they're in the fridge; put them on a plate so you don't get crumbs everywhere though."

"Okay, thanks mom!" Tsukiko went to the cabinet and took out a plate before walking to the fridge. The sandwiches were pretty simple, just some lettuce, cheese, and what looked like chopped chicken, but food in general looked amazing right now. "Goodnight Mom, Goodnight Kenji."

"Goodnight Tsukiko." The two replied in unison, getting a giggle from the Kyuubi.

Tsukiko heard them return to their conversation as they left, though she was having a hard time making out what they were saying over the myriad of new noises she was hearing in the house. Crickets from outside, the odd bird or two chirping as the sun fell, and the house itself settling was a symphony in and of itself.

Tsukiko entered the room and smiled when she saw Hikari looking around.

"I have sandwiches." The Juubi turned around and smiled, taking one of the sandwiches when Tsukiko was close enough.

"Thank you; I can survive on the chakra around me, but food is much better."

"Yeah, thanks for doing that weird…chakra feeding thingy…" Tsukiko waved her hands about as she spoke, emphasizing that she still had no idea how it worked.

"I'll explain it in the morning." Hikari took a bite of the sandwich, quickly devouring the rest of it out of what Tsukiko assumed was habit. She realized part of it was just having a large mouth; after taking a single bite, Tsukiko found about a third of the sandwich gone.

"Is it okay if I sleep in your bed with you?" Hikari asked, motioning to the bed. There would be just enough room for them, but they'd have to be close for the whole night. All things considered, Tsukiko could live with that.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot actually."

* * *

And there ya go. Keep in mind that a majority of this was written from 1am-4am after several months of having totally forgotten what the fuck I was doing. So yeah, here ya go.

I'm sorry if there are any errors or it if read weird; I haven't really written jack since I got to college and I'm a bit out of practice… not to mention this whole chapter/scene was a little clunky in and of itself.

Well, Goodnight my Freaky Darlings. It's 4am and I need sleep.


	9. Good Intentions

And another chapter, my dear Freaky Darlings.

Do not take this as fact, but I've come up with a tentative plan. I'm going to aim to finish this story first, followed by either Naruto, The Elemental, Or Bloody Maelstrom: Redux. I'll finish whichever one isn't second third, and probably Symphony of the Hunter's Moon after that.

Or I might just say fuck it and ride on a unicycle for a bit.

I've noticed my pattern to be to finish a chapter, get about halfway through the next and then forget about it for about a month or two, then pick it back up. Or something similar. Regardless, it's finals week so be happy that I decided to finish this up now.

* * *

"That went well." Tsukiko sighed, sinking into the soft couch that sat against the wall in her father's office. Minato sat behind his desk, rubbing his temples; dealing with the council rarely left him in a good mood and without a headache.

Presenting the presence of Bijou to a Village Council isn't the least stressful of things; suggesting that they be allowed to remain in the village was a task of an entirely different level. Ultimately it had come down to Minato pulling some strings and twisting an arm or two, but no one could deny the potential benefits of having two Bijou defending the village. The issue arose in convincing both ninja and civilian councils that said Bijou wouldn't turn against the village when Minato himself didn't totally believe it.

"Hey…dad?"

"Hmm?"

"You're not nearly as okay with Hikari and Kenji…and what I did…as you said you were, are you?"

Minato sighed, feeling far older than he should have. He delayed his response by closing his eyes and taking another breath, swinging back and forth in his chair while he collected his words.

"I've never seen a Bijou do anything but destroy." Minato began, eyes remaining closed while his tone was calm and collected. "Demons, as long as humans have known, have been nothing but engines of destruction; if nothing else, in my life they've been naught by sources of suffering and pain. The one you call Kenji killed well over a hundred of our own ninja, and that's without a civilian death-count or counting all of the damage it did to our village."

"He."

"He, she, it, whatever!" Minato snapped, eyes opening; he quickly reeled in the anger though, letting his eyes drift closed again. "My point is that I can't just forget and forgive everything that he did, and to be perfectly honest I've yet to meet a demon who is anything but hell-bent on destruction."

"Then why are you letting us stay?"

"Us?" Minato asked, confused for a moment. The realization came quickly however, and he had the decency to lower his head. "Tsukiko, I didn't mean it like that; You're my daughter."

"But now I'm a Bijou of the same rank as the one that hurt so many people here… but I can understand you letting me stay. I love you and mom, and the whole village too, and I know that they'd eventually accept me being a demon. I know you and mom wouldn't disown me, no matter how mad you got, but… why would you let a Juubi and a Nibi stay too? Why was there so little fight?"

"Because I almost killed you, and I don't want to lose you again." Minato sighed, "I didn't know if you'd leave if I was overly harsh on the two of them. I mean, I'm reserving the right to be as harsh as necessary on the blue one since you two are doing the weird dating thing."

"Dad, they have names," Tsukiko frowned, sitting forward and resting her elbows on her knees. "And while we're on the topic why don't you let me know what you really think about courtship."

"My issues have been stated. I don't like Bijou, I can't trust them; You're my daughter and thus an exception, but above and beyond the whole demon thing, I don't particularly have any issues with Hikari. She's a bit dense when it comes to human culture apparently, but she did everything in her power to heal you, and if nothing else I've seen the way she looks at you."

"Wait, you don't mind that… you know...I'm…"

"In a lesbian relationship? Not really; to put it bluntly it means I don't have to worry about you getting knocked up." Minato shifted and rested his cheek on his fist, his expression best equated to a combination of boredom and annoyance. "My issue is that she's a demon, Kenji is a demon, and you decided to turn yourself into a demon."

"At least we're all trying to be useful." Tsukiko snapped back, sitting straighter and folding her arms over her chest; she was starting to think the transformation had increased more than her height in terms of physical changes.

"Oh, don't get me wrong; I see the value and potential here. The issue comes from everything I've ever learned about demons and the golden rule of being a ninja."

"Golden rule?"

"Cover thine ass." Minato replied, completely serious, "You can't tell me that those two are harmless, and you flat out told me that you don't have full control of your chakra yet."

"Which is why I need Hikari here, and she can keep me from doing something stupid accidentally, and I know she can keep Kenji in line." Tsukiko countered, "Apparently Kyuubi is the highest natural rank; you have to have the blessing of Kami herself to become a Juubi. Hikari got it because she'd never use it."

"Alright, let's say I believe that. What about Kenji? With no weapon and apparently only the strength of the Nibi no Nekotama—and I never thought I would refer to that like a small amount— he repelled the entire force I sent forward. If he gets triggered by something it's going to be a shitstorm."

"I'm sure there's a difference between species, but Kenji was a trained swordsman. He hadn't used it in ages, but he said that you don't study something for several centuries and just forget it. He's honestly getting out of a depression though; everything he did while he was blinded by his pursuit of power came crashing down on him in the seal." Tsukiko sighed looked at her father with pleading eyes. "Kenji is trying to make amends for what he did; maybe he never will, but if nothing else you can't deny him the chance to try."

Minato looked like he was about to offer a sharp retort, but something stopped him from unleashing whatever comment he had planned. Instead he sunk into his chair, sighing and leveling a serious look at Tsukiko.

"Tsukiko, I have a whole village to think about and potential aside you three are risks. I can read people, and I will be honest with you; Hikari loves you, and she won't do anything to hurt you, which involves hurting your home. Kenji is indeed a depressed individual, and I don't personally think that he's going to do anything to add on to his conscience," Minato stood up and walked over to his daughter, kneeling by her and taking her hands in his. "Accidents happen though, and every ninja knows that you can't account for every possibility. I can't shake the feeling that if they make a mistake it won't be a light or harmless one; that much power shouldn't be able to be contained without a seal, and if most Jinchuuriki are an example then even then it won't be totally controlled. I don't like any of this, but what's done is done, and if you trust both of them then I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I will be having Anbu watching them damn near constantly, make no mistake of that."

"Especially if Hikari takes me on a date?

"If that happens, the entire ninja force is being mobilized to make sure nothing…" Minato trailed off as Tsukiko leveled a deadpanned-glare his way, "Okay, fine, just the Anbu."

Tsukiko took her hand from her father's grasp and wrapped her arms around him, giving a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

xxXX/(o)\XXxx

Sasuke was eying the windows of his room, knowing that they'd be his only escape given that Itachi was standing in the door frame. Then again, he wouldn't be able to match his brother's speed; with any luck the elder Uchiha had finished venting his frustrations the night before, and Sasuke was hoping that if he hadn't the following reprimand would be strictly verbal.

"Okay, I'm going to hold off on kicking your ass further." Itachi started, leaning against the door frame, "But if you want to buy yourself a "Get-out-of-a-beating-free" card, you're going to spend some time explaining why you basically committed treason. It apparently wasn't according to what happened at the meeting the Yondaime called, but you're still giving me a good damn reason not to kick you through that wall."

"What happened at the meeting?"

"That's on the list right after I decide if your reasoning is good enough not to warrant another ass-whooping."

Sasuke sighed and sat down on his desk, knowing that most of Itachi's anger was coming from the worry and stress that his actions had put their mother through.

"Do you remember when I asked you about what was right and what was easy?"

"Yeah." Sasuke was expecting that sort of response for most of the conversation; one word with an irate tone.

"Kakashi-sensei told me to run after I followed everyone to that valley. I didn't know what was going on, but I showed up in time to see Tsukiko use kawarimi to take that hit from the Yondaime. My sharingan isn't as developed as yours, but I know a healing effort when I see one, and when Hikari's concentration slipped Tsukiko got hurt. I figured that if the ninja managed to break past Kenji, Tsukiko might die; when I got to him and asked, he confirmed it."

"Hikari, Kenji?"

"Hikari is the blue one, Kenji is the red one." Sasuke explained, realizing that he and Tsukiko were probably the only ones to know their names.

Itachi sighed and folded his arms, drumming his fingers on his bicep.

"Not totally convinced yet."

"If I never take anything else from what Kakashi has taught me, it's that failing your village makes you trash, but abandoning a comrade makes you worse than trash. I don't care what it might have meant, but Tsukiko is my comrade and friend, and if any ninja had gotten by it would have meant her dying."

"And what if this Kenji had struck you down too?"

"Sitting down and thinking about what-ifs after the fact doesn't change or help anything."

Itachi let loose a sigh, reminded of all the times he had said the same thing to Sasuke, and all the times before when others had given him the same advice. It was a decently awkward situation in Itachi's mind; Ultimately Sasuke was fine, and Konoha now had three Demons on its side. If his brother hadn't done the little act of treason then things could have turned out worse, but at the same time it didn't excuse him standing against odds that should have seen him dead by the attacking ninja if not some sort of punishment from the village itself. In light of the news the council had swept it under the rug, especially considering that Kenji did ninety percent of the work in repelling the ninja, but it still wasn't something that Itachi could just forget about.

The fact that their mother had been worried sick, both at their disappearance and the news of what Sasuke had done, hadn't exactly alleviated any of his anger. At the same time, he felt bad for being so angry with his brother; it wasn't exactly the best example to get so mad about Sasuke doing what he felt was right, which turned out to be as close to right as the situation could offer.

"Sasuke, what exactly do you think you deserve? You broke ranks and stood against Konoha."

"I think I deserve some space. You kicked my ass last night, Mom did that whole yelling-hug thing that she does, and the council—from what your told me—is content to overlook this. I'm sure that Kakashi has some choice words from me, and I have no doubt that I'm getting no end of hell for some time from everyone else!" Sasuke had let his voice escalate into an exasperated shout at the end.

The only response Itachi gave was to stand there for a few silent moments longer before leaving his younger brother alone, sliding the door shut behind him.

With the click of the lock Sasuke fell to his knees and let loose a sigh. A small shift and twist saw him lying on his back on the floor, staring out his window and up into the sky.

"It's a good day out."

xxXX/(o)\XXxx

"How did the meeting go?"

Minato sighed and sat down, resting his cheek in his palm and watching his daughter sit beside Hikari.

"Well enough; the civilians are going to lose their shit, the shinobi are willing to give you a chance." Minato replied, mentally arguing with himself. "Most of them are content to have a strong defense in the form of a Juubi and a Nibi, though it took some convincing to work in the fact that there isn't just one Bijou of each rank."

"And Tsukiko?"

"She's staying in the ninja program as it stands; Kakashi says he doesn't have a problem with it as long as she can control the power she got with the whole transformation thing. He'd like to speak to you regarding the training you've given her as well as the training she still needs." Minato sighed again and sat up straighter. "Tsukiko, do me a favor and only listen to Kakashi and me when it comes to orders; you were already a person of interest just as my daughter, and now that you are a Kyuubi half the council will try to manipulate you one way or another. Try not to accept any gifts if you can."

"Gifts?" Hikari perked up, looking relatively surprised and annoyed.

"Like… for favors…" Minato trailed off, not knowing what the hell was going on in the Juubi's head. "Like, "Oh, I gave you this so you need to do a favor for me!"… that kind of a deal."

"O-oh."

"What, did you think he meant gifts like courtship?" Tsukiko asked, looking at the larger kitsune beside her. The response she got was a tight hug that sent her face straight into Hikari's chest.

"I don't understand your human ways; I worry occasionally when my mind wanders."

"Am I interrupting something?" Kushina asked from behind the pair; she had walked in to see Minato desperately struggling to keep his eyes covered while it looked like Hikari was doing her best to suffocate Tsukiko with her chest.

"Not at all, I am just learning about human culture."

"I'm not even going to ask. Can you please let my daughter breathe though?"

"Oh!"

Hikari loosened her grip and let Tsukiko sit back up, both of them having the decency to blush. Tsukiko was a bit annoyed that the moment had been interrupted, but it was awkward that her parents had been there for it.

"Jiraiya is going to have a field-day with you two." Minato sighed, uncovering his eyes and rubbing his temples. "Just passing through, O' wife-of-mine?"

"Actually I came in to let you know that Jiraiya and Tsunade are likely to be here in a day or two; I know you sent another messenger toad to them explaining the… new situation, but they're still probably hauling ass across the country to get here because of the first message." Kushina replied, casting a quick look towards Hikari, which the Juubi missed entirely; Hikari was a bit too preoccupied with smoothing down Tsukiko's hair, which had gotten a little frazzled from the dive into Hikari's bust.

Tsukiko had missed the look as well, but the words hadn't escaped her.

"Wait, they're coming here?!" She asked, a mix of excitement and slight fear. It had been about a year since she had seen her "grandparents", and she wasn't super sure how either of them would take her transformation or her sexuality. At least Shizune and Tonton weren't likely to judge her.

"And will probably be here tomorrow or the next day; they're old but they're fast." Kushina added at the end, not looking over at Tsukiko for the reply.

"Neh, Hikari-san? Could you do me a favor?" Minato asked suddenly, tone as casual as humanly possible.

"Probably, what is it that you need?" Hikari replied, a little confused by his tone. Tsukiko had explained the relationship she had with this "Jiraiya and Tsunade" and Hikari could understand the tension in her voice because of that, but Minato seemed too casual.

"If you're going to be teaching at the academy then someone is going to have to run a list of what you and Kenji intend to pass on through the usual hoops and desks. Tsukiko, could you take Hikari to the study with Kenji and get a relative list together for both of them?"

"Uh… sure." Tsukiko replied, standing up and offering a hand to Hikari; it was more to hold the Juubi's hand than to help her up, but Hikari took it with a smile nonetheless.

"I will do my best to give it some kind of order and to keep it realistic; humans don't have the same amount of time we do to master these things. Kenji is probably going to limit his teaching to swordsmanship, but I will make sure that's all. I will see you later, Minato-kun."

As the two walked off, Minato let his casual façade fade and threw a pointed look at his wife.

"What are you giving me that look for?" Kushina asked, annoyed and unamused.

"You know damn well what; are you going to keep glaring at them until the end of time or are you just going to accept the fact that Hikari makes her happy?"

Kushina huffed and folded her arms, sending half a glare at her husband.

"I accept my little girl is happy right now-"

"But it's pissing you off that she's with another woman, in a serious relationship, and you're worried off your ass that Tsukiko is going to get hurt like you did."

"That is not…" Kushina started, though her words died on her tongue. She silently walked over to the couch and sat beside Minato. "Why the hell do you have to know me so well?"

"Because I'm your husband and I love you." Minato replied, putting an arm around Kushina and leaning back while taking her with him, "But you have to remember Tsukiko isn't you, and Hikari isn't Kimiko."

"I can't just sit and pretend to be alright with this after all of that. Tsukiko became a demoness for her; that's sort of a point of no return and she's going to get hurt worse than I did if this goes south."

"And Tsukiko has a very level head; she wouldn't make a jump like that without being sure that she loved Hikari." Kushina turned her head and leveled another glare at Minato.

"Well if you're so alright with this, then why are you keeping such a close eye on them?"

"Call me racist if you want, but it's because Hikari is a Bijou. A big part of it is that my daughter is just dating someone in general too; I just want her to be treated right and respected. The fact that Hikari is a woman doesn't even faze me. If anything I'm kinda glad Tsukiko got such a looker." Minato let out a laugh that was cut short by an elbow in his ribs.

"How can you be so casual about this?"

"Because I don't know what it feels like; you were really the first girl I ever fell in love with, and you married me. I don't want to see my daughter hurt, but Hikari looks at her the same way that I look at you; I doubt that she would ever intentionally do anything to hurt her. Doesn't mean I'm not going to watch them like a hawk, but that's beside the point." Minato sighed, shifting a bit; that elbow had made his position feel oddly uncomfortable. "I understand why you're scared, and I'm sure that Tsunade and Jiraiya are going to sympathize with both of us, but we're all going to have to trust Tsukiko and Hikari."

"And if it all goes to hell?"

"If Tsukiko gets hurt then we're going to see if I'm stronger than a Juubi, because I will be attempting to kill a bijou; I thought we already agreed on that plan." Minato chuckled, getting a much gentler elbow to the side.

"I married an idiot, but at least I love him." Kushina joked, jumping when Minato's hand hit a certain spot on her side. "Don't you dare."

"Dare what? Tickle the most beautiful woman in my life?"

"If that hand does anything other than rest lovingly on my side I'm going to be the most dangerous womaAH!"

Minato was well aware of the fact that he was probably going to get an ass kicking for this, but he also knew that he was safe as long as he kept it up.

"I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU MINATO NAMIKAZE!"

It was amazing how well she could threaten his life through uproarious laughter.

xxXX/(o)\XXxx

"Did you hear something?" Kenji asked, ear twitching as he sat on the edge of the desk.

"Probably just my mom threatening my dad's life again for tickling her." Tsukiko replied, not looking up from the paper in front of her; she had decided to start writing the subjects that Hikari and Kenji planned to teach, given that she had quickly found out that they both tended to write in what she suspected to be the demon language. It looked like a perverted version of Japanese, though her attempts at reading it proved that it was about as related as fish were to the sky.

"Is that common?"

"More than you'd think. It's sorta how they show they love each other some days."

"With death threats?"

"Yep." Tsukiko sighed and tapped the pencil against the desk, staring at the list with some amount of annoyance. "Both of you are only teaching one thing. Hikari has elemental manipulation, Kenji has weapon training; I don't know if they want more or not."

"Both of those are very broad subjects." Hikari replied, standing on her knees beside where Tsukiko sat, arms folded on the desk. "What else would you have us teach?"

"Keep in mind that they don't have a demon in them to help with the limits of the Kaze Mai, so don't go asking for that." Kenji quickly added in, "And when I say weapon training, I mean I can teach them to wield damn near anything and channel chakra into it; it improves the cutting edge and impact force."

"I have no idea what you two actually know though!" Tsukiko shot back, annoyed, "You've been in a seal most of my life, and the only thing I've seen you do is blast back an entire force of ninja without moving; why don't you teach that?"

"That isn't some art to be handed out and disregarded by ungrateful students!" Kenji barked back, making Tsukiko and Hikari jump a little from the ferocity of it. It took him a moment to realize that he had yelled. "That… is not something I'm going to teach, at least not until I find the right pupil."

"Umm, I could probably show them how to do a type of meditation that can increase your chakra pools…" Hikari offered, trying to break the sudden silence.

Tsukiko nodded and wrote it down under Hikari's column, hoping to get at least three things for each Bijou.

"Still going to need a few things from you Kenji." Tsukiko sighed, looking up to Nibi.

"I can't help Hikari with the elemental manipulation class if that gets approved; I'm not as good as she is, but I know enough to teach." Kenji replied, shifting around for a moment before deciding it would be more comfortable to just stand. "Other than that I don't know how much good I'll be. Might be able to get away with teaching some more advanced swordplay, but that's about it."

"Okay…" Tsukiko trailed off, writing down the two items; she almost wasn't sure if she should count the elemental manipulation assistance seeing as Hikari had "claimed it", but it was better than nothing. Two different teaching methods might help if a student couldn't learn from one of them though. "Can you think on one more Hikari? I want both of you to have at least three."

"I don't think that they'd appreciate me teaching history; I probably remember things a lot differently than they do. If humans had better voices I could teach them to sing."

"That's not exactly a ninja art Hikari-chan…" Tsukiko's next statement was cut off by Kenji's laughter.

"When a demon sings, the world is moved." He started, smiling as if he were looking over a fond memory, "It's an old saying. You've heard Hikari sing a line or two from old human songs, but you still haven't heard her really _sing_. That aside, humans can't sing the same way we do anyway, so it would be a lost cause; even if you could, our language can be a little rough on human throats."

"I'll sing for you sometime, Tsuki-chan." Hikari smiled, a light blush on her face.

"Tsuki-chan?" Tsukiko asked, blushing at the sudden pet-name. Hikari's eyes widened a little and it looked like she bit her lip for a fraction of a second.

"Do you not like it?"

"N-no, I like it, I just wasn't—It kinda caught me off guard…" Tsukiko sputtered, not really sure how to react; it didn't help that Hikari's expression was positively adorable.

Kenji chuckled to himself and walked out of the room, shutting the door and leaving the two of them to have their moment; Hikari had waited a long time to find someone she could love like that, and far-be-it from him to intrude on any of their moments.

"Did you get a list down?" Minato asked, leaning against the wall beside the door.

"I'm down for three things; they're trying to get another item for Hikari. Kinda redundant to ask that question when you've been eavesdropping the entire time though, isn't it?"

"To be fair this is a clone."

"Same concept. Are you paranoid that Hikari and I are corrupting your daughter?"

Minato let out a chuckle and spared a glance at the door the led to the study.

"Something like that."

"To be perfectly honest Tsukiko is more likely to corrupt Hikari; Trust me, I was stuck in her mind for sixteen years."

"Meaning what?" Minato asked, tone dangerous. Kenji looked at the door and made a brief "follow" gesture, walking down the hall towards the living room. Minato's clone followed, walking through the living room and down another hall that saw them standing in the back yard. "Enhanced hearing?"

"Hence why I was whispering when we were outside the door; I doubt they were listening though."

"Now, why did you drag me out here?"

"Because you wanted me to explain what I meant, since you wanted to be sure before you tried to kill me for the implication. When I was in the seal, my world was a cage surrounded by Tsukiko's mind; for sixteen years, when I was awake, I had to bear witness to a good portion of her thoughts and dreams; hopes, fears, everything." Kenji started, rubbing the side of his neck. "Your daughter has a vivid imagination, and I know she at least has some iota about how to have sex with another woman. Hikari's main concern is cuddling and sleeping in terms of things she wants to do with Tsukiko, and I'm more or less just here trying to right some wrongs. No one is planning on corrupting your daughter."

"So Hikari isn't going to try anything at all and Tsukiko is going to be putting the moves on her?" Minato asked, drowning the words in sarcasm, to which Kenji replied with a sigh.

"Yes. Look, all demons are different, but kitsune women have a heat cycle; for about a week or two this year, if it didn't happen earlier this year, you can worry about Hikari trying to bed Tsukiko; Given that she'd never break the courtship, it's unlikely that it would be an issue even then. Plus, she's probably going to deal with it like she always does."

"Meaning?"

"Let me put it this way: Hikari is a virgin." Kenji replied. "Now then, here's the point: Tsukiko is still functioning like a human, at least in mind. Your species evolved out of having a cycle like demons for the sake of being able to produce offspring whenever, instead of only during a certain time. This means that you guys are always thinking about sex, if only a little or in some secluded part of your mind. Again though, I know Tsukiko well enough to know that she won't try to have sex with Hikari till courtship is done. That being said, there are a lot of things that don't qualify as sex, and Tsukiko is the one that's more likely to be pushing up to the boundaries. Hikari just won't be thinking about sexual things as much as Tsukiko will; that's just how things are set up to be right now."

"So evolution is against us here."

"It's not against anyone; there's no fight to have unless you're trying to make one. Tsukiko and Hikari are going to have their trials and fun, and through it all they'll need space to have their relationship. That means you, Minato-san, need to ease up on them."

"You don't need to tell me how to raise my daughter."

"She's already been raised, and I was there for all of it; now she needs room to become the woman she wants to be. There's a point when you have to realize that she's a stone's throw from being a woman instead of just a girl and that she's already kunoichi; She can't be your little girl forever, but she'll always be your daughter if you let her be."

Kenji turned on his heel and walked back into the house, tails and hair flowing behind him. Minato stared at the retreating form of the kitsune, a frown resting on his lips. A quick handsign dispelled the clone and sent the information back to the real Minato, leaving nothing but smoke and some flattened grass.

The walk through the house was quiet and lonely, though Kenji had no doubt that either Minato, Kushina, or some random Anbu was watching him as he made his way back to the study. He tapped the door once with his knuckle and waited a moment before opening it.

"Hello Kenji, where did you wander off to?" Hikari asked, sitting on Tsukiko's lap; most of their tail were intertwined behind the pair, and Tsukiko's arms were around Hikari's middle.

"Just went to stretch my legs; I had three things down so I figured I'd get some air."

"And talk to my dad on the way?" Tsukiko asked, giving a minor glare as she leaned to look at the Nibi.

"To be fair he ambushed me." Kenji replied, shutting the door behind him. "I'm trying to get you guys a little space at least."

"By telling him I'm going to corrupt Hikari?"

"You missed a lot of the conversation, but more or less that and trying to drive home the fact you two couldn't hurt each other if your lives depended on it." Kenji sighed, walking over and sitting on the edge of the desk again. "I'm not as good with words and I should be if I'm trying to get you two some room, but I can't be anything but honest if he's supposed to trust you two."

"Thanks for the effort I guess, but could you not tell him… that? I know you saw a lot of my head for sixteen years, but I'd like to keep that private." Tsukiko's tone was a mixture of annoyance and pleading, not wanting her parents or Hikari to know some of the things she'd thought about.

"There weren't details, so you can relax. I think I honestly did more harm than good though, and for that I'm sorry; I'm just going to try and leave you two out of the next little spat your father and I have."

"The effort was still nice." Hikari said gently, "I know you meant well."

"Me meaning well ends pretty badly most of the time." Kenji replied with a laugh, "Remember what happened with Old Roshiu? Tried help that old fucker out and I end up dropping half his house on him!"

Tsukiko couldn't help but smile a little when Hikari's crystalline laughter rang through the room alongside Kenji's smooth laughs, but the concept alone worried her.

"Was he alright?" she asked, getting another giggle from Hikari.

"Old Roshiu? Please, that old man was up and trying to beat my ass in ten seconds flat." Kenji replied through his laughter, smiling at the memory, "Must feel kinda weird to know we had lives before you met us, eh Tsukiko?"

"A little; I can't help but think of your big… would you call it Beast form? I can't help but think of a little old man chasing you around in that form with a stick." Tsukiko replied, giggling at the image.

"More or less." Kenji laughed back, smiling still. "How's the lesson plan going? Figured anything else out or did you spend that whole time being cute?"

"We spent most of it talking about… okay, we were being cute." Hikari mumbled, getting a chuckle from Kenji.

"Can't even leave you alone for five minutes…" Kenji let out another laugh, hoping that the two of them would have the rest of their lives to enjoy the other's company. Even though he understood Minato and Kushina's position, things like love shouldn't be meddled with; or at least that's what he believed.

* * *

And there is the awaited chapter. I'm really trying to balance the good and evil with Minato and Kushina; they're not the bad-guys here, and I don't want them to seem like assholes. They've both just got their own legitimate concerns, and Kenji isn't the best at talking to people.

Go figure.

I'll do my best to get the next chapter out soon, but it's finals week and I'm moving back home after that, so it could be a while before I actually get the time to write. I'll do what I can though.

Until next time, my Freaky Darlings 3


	10. Hello Humans

Hello again my dear, Freaky Darlings!

And here's the tenth chapter of OaKaaLD(Because naming all the files "Of a Kunoichi and a Lazy Demoness" got old really fast). As far as I'm concerned, it's pronounced "Oh-Kaeld"

Woo.

Was kinda obsessed with listening a certain song during this chapter, don't know if it influenced anything. It was the "Wolf that Fell in Love with Red Riding Hood", for those of you who are interested; there's an english version and several japanese versions depending on your tastes.

* * *

Awkward was something that Tsukiko realized she had waved at as the situation sailed right on by without a second glance. For some reason it had slipped her mind that her friends wouldn't know that she had turned into a demoness until she met up with them. Whoops.

It was an odd stroke of luck that saw her return to Team 7 on the day that the Rookie 9 and their sensei's had lined up as a sort of reunion. Things had changed a bit, of course, but it was still the same group at heart; Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino had passed the chuunin exam and left the teams unbalanced, but Ino had been transferred to Team 8 with Hinata and Kiba while Asuma had taken a break from a leading a team for the sake of helping the three new chuunin get used to their new duties.

Kakashi had taken her aside before everyone had shown up, save for Sasuke, and let her know that it might be wise to break it to them slowly instead of the upcoming method. Sasuke had thrown in that it might be better to just let them all know at once, instead of one at a time; Tsukiko agreed with the convenience, but she was a bit annoyed with herself for not thinking about how awkward it would be. For the most part everyone was just talking amongst themselves, leaving Tsukiko a little bit to the side while everyone mingled about Training Ground 5.

"Enjoying the space?"

Tsukiko looked to her right and saw Sasuke standing beside her, leaning against a training post like she was.

"Not really; I don't know what I expected though." Tsukiko replied, sighing. "Oh! Thank you for defending me back at Sanctuary; You must have gone through a lot of hell when you got back…"

"Don't worry about it; it's like Kakashi-sensei said, don't leave a comrade behind and all that junk." Sasuke replied dismissively.

"You know, you can drop the whole cool act and just accept the thanks. It really does mean a lot to me that you'd risk your life for me."

"Kenji-san did most of the work…" Sasuke replied, a dash of color in his cheeks. The sight of a blushing Uchiha elicited a giggle from Tsukiko. "The hell are you laughing at?"

"You blushing at some praise. Just remember I'm spoken for Sasuke-kun, don't read into the praise." Tsukiko replied jokingly, doing her best to restrain laughter.

"Not interested." Sasuke replied, letting out his usual one-breath chuckle. "Hikari's pretty lucky I guess though; you're probably one of the more competent girls of our class."

"You think? The lucky part, I mean."

"Yeah. Even when you weren't that strong you at least had a level head."

"Thanks, I guess." Tsukiko deadpanned, not sure how to take that remark.

"Did Hikari lend you some clothes? Those look like hers."

"Yeah; tails and the extra inches made mine pretty small."

With her old ninja clothes being both too small and ill shaped for her, Hikari had indeed provided a solution with quickly tailoring some of her spare clothes to fit the kunoichi: a pair of black hakama; a deep blue haori; black, elbow length gloves like Hikari's; and special sandals for her clawed feet. Hikari hadn't been much help in terms of bras, though Tsukiko counted herself lucky that the Juubi did know how to properly bind breasts with cloth without making it hard to breathe.

Sasuke was quiet for a long time after that, leaning against his post while he was lost to the world in thought. Tsukiko almost jumped when he finally spoke.

"Let me know if anyone gives you trouble about it; the whole demon thing or your sexuality."

Tsukiko hadn't expected that to come from the Uchiha, and the sheer honesty in Sasuke's eyes was touching. A smile spread across her lips and she felt a little water gather in her eye.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun."

"So how is Hikari-san then? And Kenji-san too." Sasuke quickly replied. Tsukiko was starting to think he just didn't know how to deal with thanks sometimes.

"They're good; they get to stay in the village under the condition that they act as defenders if anyone tries to attack the leaf, and if they try to teach at the academy. They can do some pretty cool stuff you know." Tsukiko said with a smile, laughing a little with her words.

"Yeah, whatever Kenji was doing was pretty amazing. Hardly moved a muscle and he pushed back the entire wave of ninja." Sasuke replied, voice still awestruck as though he had just seen it. "I'd kill to know what the hell he was doing."

"You could just ask, you know." Tsukiko deadpanned, "Don't expect him to teach you though; he kinda flipped his shit when we asked him about teaching it at the academy."

"I doubt I'm going to have time to run to the academy."

"What do you do all day, train?"

"Yes."

"You really need to get a girlfriend or something. Some kind of positive human contact."

Sasuke scoffed and shook his head.

"I'm doing fine as I am. Never really saw the point anyway; I need to be focusing on getting stronger."

"Do you remember what Haku said? Back in Wave?" Tsukiko asked softly, "To be truly strong, you need something precious to your heart. If you're always trying to be alone, then that's not going to happen."

Sasuke was about to give some biting retort, but something killed the words before they would come out. Tsukiko watched a bit of color come to his cheeks as he tried to get his words straight in his head.

"Tsukiko, can I talk to you for a second? Out of earshot?" He asked, nudging his head towards the treeline of the grounds. Tsukiko let a single amethyst brow rise up but she nodded and took her weight off of the post, following Sasuke to the trees a moment later.

"Any particular reason you're dragging me over here? This had better not be a confession; I already said I was taken." Tsukiko said, arms folded as she leaned against a tree. They were out of earshot given that most of the Rookie 9 were busy talking amongst themselves, but at the same time she and Sasuke were still fairly visible.

"First off, can you promise not to repeat what's going to be said to anyone?"

"Provided it's not a matter of village security, sure. My dad is the Hokage and all that." Tsukiko replied, getting a glare in response. "Oh fine, I promise I'm not going to tell anyone about whatever the hell you're so worried about."

"Thank you." Sasuke sighed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts and struggle with whatever he was trying to say. "Okay, look, it's not that I don't want someone in my life like that, it's that… I… don't really…", Sasuke paused, rubbing his temples for a moment and sighing like the whole ordeal was painful, "I can't even talk about this well. I don't know how to talk to girls, okay? I kinda realized that I was digging myself a lonely hole after you snapped me out of my shit a while ago, and I was thinking about trying to date someone, but two issues came up: I don't know how to ask someone out and all the girls in our generation are either falling at my feet in the worst way or they've realized I'm a raging asshole, neither of which I really want."

Tsukiko could tell that it had taken some effort from the young Uchiha not to let his voice escalate into a yell near the end, though it hadn't stopped some on the wild gestures. Tsukiko probably would have hugged him if the action wouldn't send his face straight into her breasts; the increased height and his own awkwardness with physical contact didn't match up well.

"Well what do you want me to do about it? Or did you just need to vent and get it off your chest?" Tsukiko asked, frowning a little.

"I… was hoping that you could give me pointers or something. I mean you had to say something to Hikari, right?"

"I don't think she and I are a good template for advice; we started out with this weird friendship-teacher-student thing, and then we were probably best friends for a while, and now we're… well, _us_."

"So… no pick-up line?" Sasuke asked weakly, his face shifted into a sort of apologetic wince, like he was sorry for the pointless question.

"Not really. Is there anyone you'd wanna ask out or are you just getting ready for when you find them?"

"I can't really think of anyone. I thought about Sakura, but I feel like there's someone better out there for her; besides, she's finally getting out of that whole fangirl thing and I don't want to cause a relapse." Sasuke offered the last part as a joke, giving a half-hearted laugh and smile; Tsukiko replied with a smile but let it pass without returning the laugh. "Other than the Rookie 9 and that girl from that spandex-guy's team, I don't know a lot of women."

"Well you could ask a guy out, just saying." Tsukiko replied, giving a grin worthy of a fox, "I mean, I'm enjoying swinging for the other team, if you know what I mean."

"…I'm only saying this because you're probably the closest thing I have to a best friend, but I've thought about that too."

"Oh…", was the only reply that Tsukiko could really manage; it was surprising enough that the young Uchiha had emotions, let alone a dream of romance. The fact that her joke had turned into a sort of confession for him had caught her off-guard. "Let me know if anyone gives you any shit about it."

Sasuke smiled lightly, the barely curved line growing until the Uchiha was beaming and laughing.

"You're the only one who knows, but thanks. I'm still on the fence, but it's sort of me not ruling anything out."

"Never a bad thing; any guys you're looking at then?" Tsukiko asked, still smiling as she leaned against the tree. She was a little surprised to see a bit of color come to Sasuke's cheeks again, and again a fox-grin came to her lips. "Alright, who is it?"

"No one. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm just gonna call bullshit on that one. C'mon, you can let me know." Tsukiko pressed, biting her cheek to contain laughter; she knew that this was kind of a big deal to Sasuke. She also knew that, if nothing else, she wouldn't have been able to deal with laughter while she was struggling with her feelings for Hikari.

"This is still under the whole non-disclosure thing, got it?" Sasuke snapped, waiting for a nod before he continued, "It's… hell, I…ever since… look, I think he's kinda awesome…"

"Kenji?" Tsukiko asked, more to herself than the Uchiha, slightly confused as to why the Nibi was walking across the field towards them alongside her father.

"Wait, how did you know?"

"Wait, what?"

"Hey Tsukiko-chan!" Minato greeted, waving half-heartedly with a smile. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I kinda need to drag you away for a while."

"How's rejoining society as a demoness going?" Kenji asked, folding his arms over his bare chest; despite badgering from a few sources, Kenji retained his entire outfit as just his black hakama.

"A bit rough to be honest. Sasuke's pretty much the only one that's willing to talk to me." Tsukiko replied, still somewhat confused.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. Itachi told me that you were the one who got me out of treason charges." Sasuke bowed, silently praying that they hadn't heard any of their conversation.

"I should be thanking you, Sasuke-san. You're little stunt bought me time to come to my senses." Minato replied, smiling.

"You're welcome, but Kenji-san did most of the work."

"True, but I doubt they would have stopped the offensive if a human hadn't sided against them; do not underestimate your role, Sasuke." Kenji praised, smiling at the Uchiha and bringing some color to Sasuke's cheeks. "I would like to spar with you if you ever have the time; you have a great deal of potential and your wavelength is exceptionally stable for a human."

"Thank you, Kenji-san." Sasuke replied, unsure of the wavelength comment.

"Why do you need me?" Tsukiko asked, hoping that the question would spare the Uchiha; Sasuke was either crushing a bit hard, or he just didn't know how to deal with praise from a demon.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade are here, and they wanted to talk to you; they're at the house with your mother and Hikari right now. Kenji just wanted to come for the walk when I said I was heading out to get you." Minato explained, jerking a thumb over at the Nibi. "I also need to run Kenji and Hikari down to the Academy to get someone to show them around; you're welcome to come with us."

"I'd like to… but how bad are Jiraiya and Tsunade going to grill me for the whole Sanctuary thing and Hikari?"

"Don't know; I left just about when the conversation started, and by the time we get back they would have been talking for about an hour. Depends on how the conversation's going." Minato replied with a shrug. "Jiraiya's probably going to have my issue and Tsunade is a bit of a wildcard."

Tsukiko let out a sigh and gave a nod in recognition of the possible shitstorm, mentally bracing herself for whatever was to come. She turned to Sasuke and said goodbye, walking after her father afterwards.

"Hey, Tsukiko." The kunoichi stopped and turned, surprised to find Shikamaru walking over with his usual bored-as-hell expression. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah, they need me back at home." Tsukiko replied, looking over Shikamaru to see the Rookie 9 observing the exchange.

"And right after they forced me to come over and break the ice; troublesome." Shikamaru replied, a half-heartedly annoyed frown on his lips.

"Sorry to make you get up." Tsukiko deadpanned.

"The next chuunin exams are in Kumo; they're about two months away. We were all going to get together and train next week, even those of us that are already chuunin. You were gonna get an invitation to that, but no one really knew how to approach you. We all kinda got half assed explainations as to what happened, but the whole tails thing threw us off when you got here."

"I'm still me, just taller." Tsukiko replied, flicking the chuunin in the forehead; she took care to do it lightly, unsure of how much force a normal flick had with her new strength.

"I'll pass it along. Sorry to hold you up." Shikamaru smirked, rubbing the spot on his forehead that Tsukiko had hit. "See ya around Tsukiko."

"See ya around, you lazy ass." Tsukiko smiled, turning and prompting Kenji and Minato to walk with her as Shikamaru turned around and went back to the rest of the Rookie 9.

"Good to know you're not being totally ostracized." Kenji offhandedly remarked, smoothing back his crimson hair as they walked.

"The tails aren't helping." Tsukiko replied jokingly, making the Nibi chuckle.

"I'd say just wait until they find out how soft the fur is, but I don't think Hikari would like people petting you."

"I'd protest that too, just saying." Minato pitched in, looking over his shoulder. "Are you going to keep getting taller? I'm not used to not looking down to look you in the eye."

"She's going to end up a little shorter than Hikari; female kitsune are bigger than males." Kenji answered, shrugging, "Of course, you might end up taller. We vary in height as much as humans, but you're going to be bigger than me at least. Hikari is a little on the tall side, but it's not uncommon."

"Charming; I've seen how much she has to duck to get through doors." Tsukiko replied, sighing.

"Not her fault humans are short."

"We're not short, we're compact. Less to hit." Minato defended, half joking.

"Keep telling yourself that shorty."

"At least I have a soul."

"Please, I've got crimson hair, not ginger. Gotta get more creative than that shorty."

"And _shorty_ is creative?"

"I came up with much worse in the seal, trust me."

Tsukiko wasn't entirely sure, but she thought her father might just be warming up to Kenji at least. It might have just been the fact that he was starting to see that, even if they weren't human, they were still mortal. They had their flaws, their senses of humor, their sins and their hopes; even with the physical differences, Kenji and her father weren't that different.

It reminded her that the hope of acceptance was still there, for all three of them.

∞҉Ӝ҉∞

"Damn, you did get taller." Jiraiya's greeting was something that she should have expected, but she couldn't help sweatdrop. "So am I getting a hug or are you just going to stand there?"

Tsukiko shook her head and stepped forward, glad that Jiraiya was taller than the average person; of all the people she didn't want in her tits during a hug, it was him. She wrapped her arms around her grandfather and squeezed gently, used to the firm pressure of his own hug.

"Oh come on, that's a damn weak hug." Jiraiya complained, tone joking. Tsukiko's response was to tighten her grip and lift the Sannin off the floor. "That's better!" He shouted, voice a little strained from the pressure. He laughed as Tsukiko set him down, smiling, "Definitely got stronger too; I'd say you might be as strong as Tsunade, at least in brute force."

"That… wasn't as tight as I could have gone." Tsukiko deadpanned, getting another laugh from the Sannin as he led them into the living room.

"Yeah and she doesn't hug me with all her might either; I wouldn't be walking if she did." He replied, smiling over his shoulder, "Now give your grandmother a hug too before she hits both of us."

Tsukiko looked over to see Tsunade sitting on the couch across from Hikari, who sat in one of the armchairs; Shizune was nowhere to be seen, but given that Kushina wasn't in the room the two of them were likely catching up in somewhere else in the house. The Juubi smiled and waved as Slug Sannin stood and walked over to Tsukiko, taking a moment to size her up.

"Well you filled out nicely if nothing else." Tsunade said with a smile, opening her arms. Tsukiko closed the gap and gave her the same hug Jiraiya had gotten, lifting her off ground and wincing slightly when Tsunade gave a surprisingly crushing hug.

"Stronger, not made of steel." Tsukiko winced, getting a laugh from Tsunade as she lightened the pressure.

"Stronger is never a bad thing; come on, sit down and tell us how you've been. Hikari-san has explained everything regarding sanctuary and you two." Jiraiya remarked, walking back over to the couch and sitting down, Tsunade not far behind.

"Can I have a hug too?" Hikari asked, a little sheepishly; she wasn't entirely sure if she was intruding on some human greeting ritual.

"Only if you get up and come get one." Tsukiko replied, smiling. She giggled as Hikari popped up and bounded over in a single, graceful leap, wrapping her arms around Tsukiko as the kunoichi returned the hug. It was a lot tighter than the hugs with Jiraiya and Tsunade, yet amazingly gentle and tender at the same time, though Tsukiko did have to lift herself up a little to avoid being lost in Hikari's cleavage again.

"Ah, young love. How come you never jump over and hug me like that?" Jiraiya asked, arm around Tsunade.

"Tch, I'm fifty years old and we've been married for twenty; you're lucky I don't push you out of bed at night." Tsunade responded, moving her arm up to lightly flick her husband. Still, she smiled as she watched Hikari and Tsukiko finish their embrace, walking over to the armchairs a moment later with their fingers intertwined. It was almost sad that there was a tiny table between the two.

"So you two are… okay with us?" Tsukiko started, words coming out hesitantly.

"Well we've had an hour to get the details from Hikari, and I'd like to think that we're experienced to tell when someone is telling the truth as opposed to spoon feeding us bullshit." Tsunade started, shrugging.

"So in other words, we don't have any issues; I think a lot of shit could have been dodged if you tried to ease everyone into this instead of what happened, but the blame for that is on Kenji-san, not you two." Jiraiya finished. "We've been around long enough to have seen weirder shit than this, and we've been ninjas long enough to know to judge each situation individually instead of following a strict pattern."

"Plus she's respectful, nice, smart, and a damn good looker on top of that. Good pick." Tsunade added on, reaching out and giving a thumbs-up. "You blush in unison too, which is pretty damn adorable, so bonus points for that."

"Thank you, that means a lot. Really." Tsukiko said through a smile, tearing up a little. Hikari inclined her head, a smile commanding her entire face.

"Your approval is a great weight off of our shoulders, thank you." Hikari said softly, sitting back up. "And thank you for your kind words Tsunade-san."

"So Kushina and I are kinda alone as the ones with issues here?" Minato asked, leaning against the wall.

"Looks like it." Kenji replied, shrugging. The Nibi looked over to the Sannin and waved half-heartedly, "Am I going to get interrogated or am I free to go wander the house until I'm completely bored out of my skull?"

"I wouldn't say interrogated, but you're getting the chance to tell your side of the story and explain a few things, Kenji-san." Jiraiya replied, shrugging. "Like we said before, we're not judging you until we get the whole story; you happen to be the last piece."

"Charming." Kenji sighed rubbing his neck as he walked over.

"You two can go get some time alone; I'm sure you've heard this a few times by now." Tsunade said, making a shooing motion. "Expect to have to come back and tell us how you've been when we're done with Kenji though; you're not getting out of that."

"Okay; we'll keep an ear out." Tsukiko replied with a smile, standing with Hikari following a moment later.

"The door stays open." Minato remarked flatly as they walked by, making an "I'm watching you gesture".

"Oh just let them go cuddle in peace Minato." Tsunade chastised, shaking her head. "Now get over here and sit down; might hear something important."

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming."

Tsukiko giggled as she watched her father sit down, glad that her grandparents were on her side. They weren't exactly undermining him, but it was still nice to have an outside source arguing for a little more space for the two of them.

"They're very nice people; wise too. Humans are so interesting." Hikari smiled as they reached the top of the stairs and began down the hallway. "Could we go outside? It's a beautiful day, and the shade of the tree in your backyard in delightful."

"Sure." Tsukiko replied, turning around to lead Hikari outside. She paused for a moment though, looking down the hall; they were practically standing in front of the door to her room and there was a fair distance between them and the living room. She could hear the faint sound of Kenji's loud voice coming from the stairs at the end of the hall, leading down to the hall of the first floor and thus the living room. Her heart fluttered for a moment and she bit her lip, mind racing.

"Tsuki-chan? Are you okay?" Hikari asked, wondering why the girl had become so still. "I'm sorry I didn't say something while we were on the ground floor." She was surprised when Tsukiko slowly turned around, a look in her eyes that suddenly made every aspect of her face demand Hikari's attention; the gently furrowed brow, the deep red of her cheeks, the vivid color of her slightly parted lips, the unsure wanting in her eyes. "Ts-tsuki-chan?" Hikari whispered, heart quickening it's pace as Tsukiko closed the tiny gap between them and rested her hand on Hikari's cheek, gently bringing her down as Tsukiko raised herself on her toes slightly.

It was fire; it was electricity; a single second of gentle contact between their lips that left them both flying. Hikari hadn't expected the kiss, however brief, and neither did she expect the powerful urge to keep her lips against Tsukiko's for as long as possible; hardly a second passed, both of them staring into the other's eyes before they slowly shut and the gap was closed again.

Tsukiko had never really kissed anyone before; the height difference served only to make the kiss a bit more awkward, but it went unnoticed under the pounding of her heart and the sensation coursing through her as she kissed Hikari. Her hand slid back from her cheek, weaving into Hikari's silken hair and pulling the Juubi closer. She pressed herself to Hikari, kissing her like she had seen in a movie; it was the romantic kiss between the leading actor and actress and for a moment Tsukiko lost herself in that thought.

Hikari took the role of the heroine, having just saved Tsukiko from the villain. They stared into the other's eyes for a moment before their lips crashed together like passionate waves, separating for the briefest of instances before coming back together and never truly parting. Tsukiko felt her tongue slip forward through her own lips and glide past Hikari's before a sharp pain snapped her out of the illusion.

It was so sudden that Tsukiko lost her balance and stumbled back, barely catching herself on the wall. She looked up after she had regained her balance, confused as to what had caused the pain.

Hikari stood, back against the wall, with one hand touching the wall beside her and other touching her lips with its fingertips, just barely off center. She had an odd expression on her face; it was like she was mad, sad, surprised and hurt. She shook her head, staring into Tsukiko's eyes; after a moment she tapped her lips and shook her head again.

_No._

It occurred in that moment that Hikari had bitten Tsukiko's tongue, and the younger demoness suddenly realized what she had done: pressing herself to Hikari and pinning her to the wall with her body; the hand in her hair, pulling her in; trying to slip her tongue into the kiss. Tsukiko tried to step forward, to hug Hikari, to beg for the chance to apologize, but the Juubi sidestepped her first attempt.

"Hikari-chan, please!" Tsukiko cried, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around the demoness. "Please, I'm sorry! I stopped thinki-ing and I didn't know what I wa-was doing!" She pleaded into Hikari's haori, keeping a vice-like grip on her while her voice cracked and teetered on the edge of sobs. "I'm sorry, I'm so so-orry!"

Hikari wasn't sure what to do; she had thought that Tsukiko was just being forward, and that had been okay until she tried to add her tongue into the kiss. It was something Hikari occasionally toyed with in her mind, having seen numerous humans doing it in her travels and finally having someone she'd consider doing it with, but she understood it to be something of decently great intimacy; it was a bit too much all at once and she had reacted the quickest way she could to get Tsukiko to stop.

"I-it's okay Tsuki-chan…" Hikari started, wrapping her arms around Tsukiko gently. A pure human she could wrap her mind around, and a demon would be easily understood, but Hikari was realizing that Tsukiko had a rough blend of a human's mindset and a demon's instincts; this was a good example of a bad time for them to cross over. Inexperience probably didn't help; Tsukiko was probably copying something she had seen someone else do. "Is your tongue okay?"

"I-it's fine… are you?" Tsukiko asked, looking up; Hikari saw a few trails on her cheek from tears that Tsukiko couldn't keep in. "I'm so sorry Hik-Hikari-chan!"

"I'm fine Tsuki-chan. That… was too much though. Just the tongue; the rest I liked." Hikari replied, stroking Tsukiko's hair, "You have to ask before things like that, but it's okay Tsuki-chan. Courtship is about learning things like this."

"O-okay…" Tsukiko whispered, resting her head against Hikari's chest as they stood there in silence for a few minutes.

"U-uh… Tsuki-chan?" Hikari started, sounding slightly hesitant. Tsukiko loosened her grip enough to lean back and look up at Hikari, freeing a hand to dry her eyes. She was a little surprised to see Hikari blushing.

"Yes?"

"This…might be a bad time, but…" Hikari whispered, as though she was suddenly afraid of being overheard. She pushed Tsukiko away just enough to be able to lean down next to her ear, the warm breath tickling the sensitive fur. "Can you kiss me like that again? Not right now, but… later tonight maybe?"

Tsukiko wasn't entire sure what her heart just did, but it definitely wasn't a normal beat. She felt an odd fire spark in her chest, making her bite her lip as she nodded. Just as Hikari was going to pull back, Tsukiko put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"C-could you tell me what you want? No tongue… a-anything else?" Tsukiko quietly asked, whispering the question into Hikari's ear and feeling like this situation was far more sexual than it actually was or should have been. Then again, this was about as intimate as she had even been with someone.

"The kissing and… I liked you pinning me. Don't worry about going too far if you're just doing that; I can push you off if you're too rough or something… actually can you be a little rough? Just a little?"

"Y-yeah."

Tsukiko let go of Hikari and let the Juubi pull back, though she was surprised when Hikari moved back in and kissed her gently.

"I love you, Tsuki-chan. That was probably a little awkward after… that. I'm sorry."

"I love you too, Hikari-chan; it's okay, you don't have to apologize."

"Can we still go outside? It really is a nice day out."

Tsukiko responded with a smile, nodding and starting towards the stairs with Hikari's hand in hers. She paused after a couple of steps though.

"Does it look like I cried? I really don't want to explain what just happened." Tsukiko asked, turning around. Hikari winced a little at that thought and nodded. "Can we wait in my room for a few minutes then? Just till it doesn't look like I lost my head over something silly?"

"It wasn't silly, it was very important to our courtship." Hikari lightly chastised through a smile, "But I guess it's a little silly by human standards, huh?"

"A little I guess; I don't have much of a frame of reference. I really am sorry, I just sorta… blanked out while I was enjoying the kiss." Tsukiko sighed as she led the Juubi into her room, glad that controlling her tails was becoming easier; there was a lot of stuff that she didn't want to knock over. She sat down on the edge of her bed, leaning against Hikari as soon as she sat down beside her.

"We can kiss with tongue, but I don't want to do it yet; it's supposed to be pretty intimate and we haven't even really been in Courtship for that long." Hikari replied, trying to comfort Tsukiko by explaining her position on it. "…Kinda sexual too, right?"

"I-I guess." Tsukiko muttered, her mind running wild with the word sexual and everything that it could apply to. She felt a little awkward having such thoughts right after the kiss fiasco, but her mind ignored the protests.

The two of them sat there, leaning against each other for a time, both oblivious to the other's thought trail despite how similar they were. Hikari shifted and cleared her throat suddenly, making Tsukiko jump a little bit as she was torn from her thoughts.

"U-umm, w-we might wanna just go outside soon. Get some air." Hikari said quickly, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Why?"

"Do you want the truth or a less embarrassing answer?" Hikari winced, fidgeting a little.

"How awkward is the truth going to be?" Tsukiko asked, realizing that her trail of thoughts had been turning her on a little, and she sincerely hoped that Hikari couldn't-

"You're aroused, and… umm… it's making me a little hot too. My mind is probably wandering about as much as yours is, and probably in the same region, so I was hoping we could get outside and get some air before things get…tempting."

Tsukiko didn't think she'd ever seen Hikari get so red in the face or talk so quickly, though she realized that there was definitely a new smell under the combination of her incense and Hikari's own earthy scent, and she wasn't entire sure if it was her or the Juubi. It also didn't take her long to figure out that with her window and door shut, along with their enhanced senses, her room was rapidly becoming an awkward hotbox.

"Yeah, we're going outside now."

They did their best to get outside as fast as possible, glad that there was a second door to the backyard that didn't need them to walk through the living room. The second the fresh air got into her lungs, Tsukiko felt her head clear up; she was surprised that it had actually been that fuzzy.

"I guess Minato-san's thing about the door being open would have helped, huh?" Hikari asked, still blushing a little. Tsukiko let out a laugh, smiling as they walked over to the lone tree of the yard.

"I'm going to open my window tonight too… just in case. I guess the whole… better senses thing makes for some awkward situations during Courtships?"

"Before I left my village to wander the world, I'd hear stories about stuff like this all the time from some of the other kitsune; I didn't really pay it much mind though. Back then I was still in the "I don't need a mate or a bitch" phase." Hikari giggled, smiling brightly as they sat down under the tree, leaning against the trunk.

"Neh, Hikari? I know it's sort of a good term for demons, but… could you just refer to me as your wife when our Courtship completes?" Tsukiko asked, suddenly feeling like there were a large number of butterflies in her stomach from the concept of being Hikari's wife, and having her as a wife. "Bitch is going to… cause some confusion. At least with my parents."

"I know… I was going to ask you if you had a substitute word actually. Great minds think alike I suppose." Hikari finished with another laugh like a crystal bell, soft yet sharp and clear. Tsukiko found herself being infected by Hikari's smile, letting her lips part to show her alabaster fangs as she leaned against the blue-haired beauty.

"Do you think that the children will like me?" Hikari suddenly asked, getting a chuckle. "What? A small child could be afraid of me!"

"Hikari-chan, they're not all going to be as young as you think. And you'll be fine; they just need to give you a chance. Kids are… kinda viciously honest, but you can probably just do the logic thing that you did to me and they'll at least give you chance. Or just do something cool and leave them awestruck."

"Okay. Thank you, Tsuki-chan." Hikari smiled, leaning over and planting a quick kiss on Tsukiko's cheek; she giggled when the kunoichi flushed, though she jumped when Tsukiko pecked her cheek with her own revenge kiss. Needless to say, it started a small kiss battle.

And for a time there wasn't a need to think about anything beyond the shade of the tree and the joy of the company of a lover; Life, in short, was good.

* * *

I was going to include a scene where Hikari, Tsukiko, Kenji and Minato go to the Academy and get the two new "teachers" a tour, but after I wrote the whole kiss sequence—which didn't start out as being that whole plot…thing…device…whatever—it felt like unneeded fluff that might have taken away from the whole thing with the kiss. Plus it's been a while since I've had some time with just Tsukiko and Hikari, so I decided to end it there.

For those of you who actually read this, nothing was really going to happen with the Academy tour anyway. It was literally just going to be "This is where you're teaching", which the note of Kenji and Hikari making a point that most of the lessons would have to take place outside instead of in a classroom. That's it. It's a Saturday, so there weren't any students in the academy for Hikari to awkwardly meet.

On a brief note, Iruka is giving Hikari and Kenji the benefit of the doubt since Tsukiko was one of his favorite students. He also doesn't know that Kenji was the Kyuubi that fucked up the leaf when he was a kid, so yeah. Most of the other teachers are going to be a little biased against Hikari and Kenji, but they're not going to say much given that they're teaching under the Hokage's orders.

I also have no idea how I banged this out so quickly. Let me know if the quality dropped or anything, but I think that it's pretty good. Feedback about Sasuke's thing for Kenji might influence if I actually do anything with it or not.

Ja Ne my Freaky Darlings! 3


	11. Life in Motion

Hello my most freaky of darlings! I know it's been forever and a half and I have no explaination other than I've been repeatedly failing at writing the next chapter for every story I've tried.

However, all of you can thank Yuri-Hime-Chan —and yes, that is her username here—for snapping me out of my funk with a well worded boot to the ass.

So… yeah. Sorry this took so long, but here ya go! I proofread it, but that doesn't stop mistakes from sliding through, so don't be too hard on me, eh?

* * *

Iruka didn't particularly like what was about to happen with the academy; the thought of working and teaching beside demons didn't sit well with him after the Kyuubi attack had killed his parents. Still, he had met his new "co-workers" two days prior; they weren't half as bad as he had feared and if nothing else they were also coming with both the Hokage's approval and, perhaps more important, Tsukiko's.

The Hokage's daughter had always been one of his favorite students, if only for the sheer force of will she seemed to possess; her skills had always been won through persistent training and she also valued the wellbeing and growth of her classmates and friends above her own. The late Sandaime had once addressed the entire ninja force simply for the sake of explaining what the Will of Fire was; that seemingly intangible force, forever beyond words for all but the Sandaime, burned strongly in Tsukiko's heart. For that reason, though Iruka may never have said it aloud, Tsukiko's word was far more calming than the Yondaime's.

As it stood however, he was standing on the academy's training field, waiting for the new "teachers" who were roughly a half hour late. Being a teacher for as long as he hadn't been the best of things to build a tolerance to tardiness; the presence of most of the academy students in the field with him was fuel to the flames.

"Iruka-sensei, how much longer are we going to have to wait?!" a boy shouted from under a tree; Iruka was slightly annoyed to not know the child's name, but he wasn't from one of Iruka's classes. He was probably close to twelve, a few years into the ninja program.

"We're only giving them another ten minutes; I'm sure they've been delayed for a good reason, but we can't have you all lazing the day away while we wait." Iruka replied, having to raise his voice to have the words reach the boy over the din of the crowd. There was a chorus of groans from a decent portion of the assembled students; lazing the day away was a better option in their eyes than having to sit in class.

"Are you sure they were supposed to come today?" Mizuki asked, fiddling with a kunai while he sat on a training post. "I mean, they have the Yondaime backing them; you'd think the pressure would have made them early. Unless they accidentally set their alarm clocks for PM instead of AM. Did that once and damn near missed the chuunin exams; man, sensei was _pissed_."

"I know, I was there too." Iruka replied, sighing; they had been on the same genin team, and Mizuki's issues with alarm clocks had tended to cause problems. The scarred chuunin turned his attention back to the path that lead around the academy; if they were going to show up, they would be on that path.

There was a single moment of relief when Iruka spied someone rounding the corner and walking toward the group; a singular second where one's brain fails to recognize who a person is, and is simply excited for the presence of an approaching soul. When his brain managed to catch up with his eyes, he was surprised to see the Yondaime approaching the assembly.

"Good morning, Iruka-san." Minato greeted as casually as ever, giving a little wave. Iruka bowed in response.

"Good morning, Yondaime-sama. What brings you here?"

"Just thought you'd like to know your new co-workers would be here in a few minutes. There were some complications this morning that kept all of us from leaving when we had planned." Minato apologized, taking a moment to flash a smile and wave at the assembled students. He really did try to not seem intimidating to the villagers, but at the same time he was still the strongest ninja in the village; it was a title that inspired a certain level of nervousness if nothing else.

"Oh, that's good to know. We weren't going to wait much longer."

"Minato-san!"

All eyes turned towards the trees behind the training field, watching as the figures of Kenji and Hikari burst from the line of trees and skidded to a halt in front of Iruka and Minato. A wave of gasps and whispers ran through the assembled students at the sight of the waving tails and height of the two.

"And speak of the devil…" Minato started, motioning towards Hikari and Kenji. "Iruka-san, meet your co-workers; Hikari Avaron and Kenji Ginsora. Have fun."

Minato turned on his heel and walked off, chuckling and shaking his head; their lateness in general was annoying and the thought of everything that could go wrong was worrisome, but the situation was amusing in its own twisted way.

Iruka watched as the Hokage rounded the corner again, feeling as though he had just been abandoned to the situation. He turned to the two bijou, unsure of how to proceed; he had been out of the building when the two had been given the tour of the Academy and had been introduced to a few of the staff. Luckily it seemed that the blue one was content to break the ice.

"You must be Iruka-san; Tsukiko has told me a lot about you." Hikari greeted, trying to act like she wasn't late; Tsukiko had asked her not to wear her cloak, and it ended up starting a huge debate about whether or not she should hide her tails from the children, and then from the village in general. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Morning." Kenji greeted, not really sure how this was going to go. He hated being late though, and was striving to keep his mood at least agreeable.

"Err, Good Morning to both of you." Iruka started, deciding not to press in regards to the reason for the delay. "I have to admit that I'm not sure how today is supposed to go; did you two come with a lesson of some sort ready? I was told you would have to have classes held outside, which is why we're gathered out here."

"Neither of us have any real teaching experience, save for Hikari's tutoring of the Hokage's daughter; We were hoping you'd have a rough direction for us today. If we're supposed to just pick up and start today then so be it, but if it's customary to do something else first it would be nice to know." Kenji replied, arms folded and tails waving calmly behind him as he half-listened to the whispers of the students.

"An introduction and a demonstration of what you'll be teaching would be a good place to start; it's generally what we do in regards to the various ninja arts."

"Just say who you are, what you're going to teach, and then do something cool enough to keep their attention." Mizuki piped in, walking over.

Kenji and Hikari replied with nod and walked over to stand in front of the whispering crowd of students. The nibi cleared his throat, hushing the whispering students and gaining their undivided attention.

"Good morning. My name is Kenji Ginsora and I've been asked by the Yondaime to teach at the academy; I will be instructing you in both basic and advanced weapon usage as well as assisting Hikari in teaching you elemental manipulation."

"Hello everyone, my name is Hikari Avaron; I'll be teaching you how to preform elemental manipulation as well as instructing you in different kinds of meditation that can increase your chakra pools."

The silence that followed wasn't exactly unexpected. The two Kitsune mentally sighed in unison, knowing that this was going to be a long day.

∞҉Ӝ҉∞

Tsukiko did her best to keep her mind calm as she dodged a combined assault from Kiba and Rock Lee, trying to make sure her brain didn't get caught up in trying to process every detail. It was an odd balance, since she reflexively tried to watch the attacks to see where the next would come from, but if she paid too much attention her mind couldn't predict the other's attack and how to dodge both. The speed of the assault didn't help things, but this practice was better than any meditation she could do.

"_Sweep-kick, punch-punch-jab-kick, attack from Akamaru from the-"_ Tsukiko's thought was cut short as Kiba landed a solid blow from behind, knocking her into Lee's kick and out of the ring from there.

"Are you alright Tsukiko?" Hinata asked, rushing over to the Kyuubi. She had recently been taking classes in healing jutsu, and she had been finding them far more to her liking than causing harm; Hinata had basically playing nurse all day while the other's sparred, and she was okay with that.

"No offense to Lee or Kiba, but that hurt my pride more than my body." She sighed, getting up after a moment. "It's such a pain to keep my head clear so I can dodge. I feel like I can freely process so much more, but every time I try I keep thinking that I shouldn't be flying through so much information and then BOOM! I get hit."

"It'll take practice, like pretty much everything else about being a ninja. Least you take a hit well." Shikamaru praised, walking over. "The Kumo exams are generally a little less fair than the ones here; their "forest of death" round is actually throwing you against two jounin. I don't know the details, but all I know is that you ultimately have to fight both at once; you're going to need that Kaze Mai at full strength if you want a chance."

"I take it we're judged on how long we last?" Tsukiko asked, cracking her neck and flexing her tails.

"More or less. No matter how strict your standards are, you can't expect anyone but a jounin or higher level ninja to actually beat both Jounin, unless of course you outsmart them. But they'll know the landscape and they'll have years of experience on all of you. It might be cowardly to say so, but I'm glad that I passed here." Neji answered, walking over. He had come along with his team at Shikamaru's request; somehow the lazy bastard and Lee were good friends. "Far be it from me to tell a demon what to do, but I think you should attack with your tails while dodging; put pressure on the enemy while still defending yourself."

"It's more difficult than you think; besides, I'm waiting for Hikari-chan to show me more before I make any alterations to the Kaze Mai." Tsukiko replied, giving a half smile. "Right now I'm just trying to get used to processing battle information again; I've been out of commission for a while."

"We'll do what we can to get you back up and going." Shikamaru assured her, looking around for a moment. "I think Lee and Kiba are your best opponents for now. I'd switch them out for myself and Tenten later, but I have a feeling that would leave you with Kunai sticking out of you."

"As much as I don't want to say this, that might be a good thing. My regeneration is supposed to get better the more it's used; getting hit a lot during these training sessions might actually help me pull through." Tsukiko cut in, corner of her mouth twitching down for a moment. No one ever really wanted to get hit, but it was a boost to her regeneration if she got hit as well as incentive to dodge the next strike.

"We'll do that next time then. We're planning on meeting every other day until we head up to Kumo, but I don't know which chuunin and jounin are going to be selected to go."

"I'd ask my dad, but I have a feeling he'd make better calls."

"Probably; the message we send doesn't need to be that the Hokage's daughter gets special treatment for her friends." Shikamaru joked, smiling as he was cuffed upside the head by the Kyuubi beside him, "Alright, alright. Head on in and we'll try this again; Hinata, make sure to heal them up if they get banged up too badly. I'm going to go check on Ino and the others."

"Alright." Tsukiko and Hinata replied in unison, laughing a moment latter at the fact.

"I'd like to spar with you at some point, Tsukiko-san. I need to practice against opponents with high chakra to make sure the Gentle Fist is still applicable, and if I can train it to be effective." Neji asked as Shikamaru turned and left, getting a nod from the demoness. "Thank you. I'm going to join Shikamaru and see if anyone needs a new sparring partner to practice dodging against."

"He tries to be very formal, doesn't he?" Tuskiko asked as he walked off, looking down at Hinata with a sort half-smirk.

"It's just how he was raised; I really hope Hanabi or I can change that when one of us becomes Clan Head."

"It's up for debate now? I thought you got it automatically since you were the eldest." Tsukiko furrowed her brow, tails waving confusedly behind her.

"Generally that's how it works, but Hanabi is more willing to make tough decisions whereas I'm not fond of displeasing anyone. Still, she's told me that she'll still need me as an advisor if she's picked as the heir, and even if she changes her mind things will still get done in the clan."

"Good to know it's a win-win situation then." Tuskiko replied, smiling.

"More or less. Either way we're pretty much planning to lead together anyway." Hinata replied, smiling. "The elders can think they'll win this if they pick her all they want; They lost this battle the moment my sister and I united our ideals."

"Wow… that's deep." Tsukiko remarked, surprised it had come from Hinata of all people. The Hyuuga giggled lightly.

"Well if she's picked it'll give me a bit more freedom in finding a husband. Or a wife I suppose; you and Hikari are good examples that it's not wise to rule anything out."

"Hinata, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm starting to see you as that wise, quiet chick that's into really freaky stuff that no one would ever imagine her doing."

"So I should try to hide it a bit better?"

"Not even going to comment." Tsukiko laughed, walking back toward Kiba and Lee. That girl had a side that she seriously doubt anyone but a lover would see, and no one would ever believe them about her if they tried to kiss-and-tell. It was hilarious in the worst way.

"Ready for round two Tsukiko?" Kiba asked as she neared. He wasn't particularly tired, but he had been using the conversations she had to rest up a little; she was good at dodging attacks and a dodged strike expended more energy than a blocked or countered one.

"Ready enough; I'm probably going to overload my head again get hit, but if I can make it a little longer then I'll be happy." She replied, a little taken aback when it looked like Lee was about to cry.

"Hikari-san is such a lucky woman! So much potential and humble as well! To be satisfied with any progress, no matter how small; such is the mark of a true master of hard work!" Lee all but shouted, eyes watering.

"Lee, you are the most emotional guy I have ever met." She started, shaking her head for a moment before patting the green ninja on the shoulder, "But thank you. Now come on, we have training to do; and remember not to pull any punches, I can take the hits."

"Yes ma'am!"

Tsukiko took a breath while Lee, Kiba, and Akamaru took their positions. It was an odd sensation to feel one's senses enhance; Tsukiko literally feel everything that was happening around her, with the barest hint of what was about to happen.

Lee took off first, opening with his leaf hurricane. It seemed slower this time, but something was wrong; Tsukiko knew Kiba was already on his way with Akamaru, ready to hit her if she dodged.

It was a snap decision, and one the basically went against the Kaze Mai. She brought her hand across as she turn against Lee's rotation, catching his shin and taking him with her as she spun around and chucked him as Kiba, causing the genin to make a sharp turn to avoid hitting him with his Gatsuuga. Akamaru was still coming in fast from the side, and Tsukiko did the only thing she could think of, which proved to be effective enough: continuing her rotation and, in essence, backhanding Akamaru off course by striking behind the tip of the drilling attack.

Kiba and Lee recovered quickly, launching more attacks as she turned to face them. Lee was doing some eccentrically named combo with too many uses of the word "youth" in it while Kiba and Akamaru were doing their standard Gatsuuga blitz. As effective as her initial offense had been, she switched back to the Kaze Mai, using speed she was still getting used to in order to dodge all of the attacks, using kawarimi more than once to give herself some breathing room, though it rarely lasted more than a second.

She was tempted to take Neji's advice and try to attack while she dodged, but moving her tails while dodging made her mind overload quicker. Still, she was starting to find the Kaze Mai annoying; some opponents could fight for hours if all you did was dodge, and she simply didn't have that kind of patience. Tsukiko felt an urge to lash out every time an attack was dodged, punishing the enemy for not being fast enough to catch her.

Leaf whirlwind-punch-punch-kick-Gatsuuga from the left and behind-Kick-kick and punch- kick- Gatsuuga blitz again- Leaf whir-

Tsukiko mentally swore as Lee's kick connected with her shoulder, sending her skidding. She was about to spin and try to hit him with her tails when Kiba and Akamaru closed in, forcing her to make a sloppy backstep right into another Leaf Whirlwind. Again, she tried to let fly another counterattack and again it was interrupted by Kiba and Akamaru coming in for an attack.

This pattern continued on for a bit, each attack bringing Tsukiko a bit closer to not being able to handle all the data being thrown at her. After another minute of the assault Tsukiko felt it; the overload about to happen that would make her pretty much freeze for a moment, meaning the next attack to hit her would send her flying. It pissed her off to no end to have such power and to not be able to use it properly; whenever she moved she felt the possibilities, but could never seem to reach that potential.

The second before the overload seemed to last an eternity, pissing her off even more as a fire grew in her core. As the overload hit, she felt herself moving instead of standing still, and though the world had sped up from the snail's crawl it had been going at it was still moving slower than normal.

She ducked under Lee's kick and, noting the she was moving normal speed despite the lethargy that had infected the world, swept the leg he was standing on out from under him before leaping out of the way of Kiba and Akamaru, causing the two to actually collide.

It felt amazing, like she was faster than the world itself. Tsukiko realized, as she watched the three right themselves and begin a new assault, that all of her senses were in overdrive, including one or two that she had no name for.

Leaf Whirlwind-Kick-Gatsuuga-punch-Gatsuuga-Whirlwind-K ick-Punch and kick, Whirlwind, Gatsuuga.

Tsukiko waited until they got close, already feeling the assault before they had even entered range. She was tired of just dodging though.

As Lee neared she knocked his kick away, hopping into the air and sending him flying with her tails before landing on all fours, low to the ground to let Kiba sail over her. She waited the briefest of moments before striking upwards with her fist, canceling the rotation and knocking the Inuzuka higher into the air. Then, not wasting energy by moving another limb, she brought her hand back down on Akamaru, hopping out of the way as he spun into the ground for a few feet before the Gatsuuga was cancelled and he rolled the rest of the momentum out.

Tsukiko jumped up towards Kiba, rotating as she rose, and smacked him towards Lee with a solid blow from her tails. Her feet touched the ground in time for her to see Lee being taken to the ground by the Kiba-missile.

"Okay, time out! I think you broke a rib on that one!" Kiba called, slowly getting off Lee. His words were a little slow but they reached Tsukiko and snapped her out of the battle high she had somehow hit; the world slowly returned to normal speed as the adrenaline subsided.

As Hinata rushed over to make sure Kiba was okay, Lee approached her with a wide smile.

"Tsukiko-san, I did not know you were holding back earlier!"

"Err, to be honest Lee-san, I didn't either. I hit the overload point but I was so pissed about being about to lose that… I don't know, I guess my brain just didn't stop working. The whole world just slowed down a little and I was moving the same speed as always so I just… went with it." Tsukiko admitted, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "I'm not really sure if I could do it again actually."

"We will start again once Kiba is healed; hopefully now that you know how it feels, you can enter that state again. You were moving remarkably fast." Lee praised with a smile and a thumbs up; all of his usual energy going into the compliment.

"I can hope." Tsukiko laughed, wondering if she'd have to wait for the overload before she could slow the world again. She took a breath as Lee turned and walked back to make sure Kiba was alright; an idea had struck when she thought about the overload.

It was like her sphere of senses expanded slowly, bringing her more and more information; She stopped trying to make it bigger after a few seconds, instead switching to trying to heighten the senses that were there while searching for the extra senses that lacked names. It was odd to be able to see every fiber of Kiba's jacket as Lee helped him off the ground, odder still to see a sort of wavering outline around each of them; Lee's was tinted blue while Kiba's was a bit more solid, thought of the same hue.

Tsukiko fought the urge to end the forced expansion as the overload point neared, smiling wide when the world slowed again. The fight had distracted her from how clear everything was; she could hear everyone talking clearly, and understand them, while still hearing a bird chirping a ways off; she could see in greater detail, even far away; the breeze that was floating by felt amazing and new simply because of the fact she could almost feel it's flow, feeling more than just what was touching her. Tsukiko admitted to herself that her sense of smell could have probably done without the enhancement; as beautiful as the flowers and trees smelled, everyone had been working hard and no one smelled particularly pleasant to even a normal nose.

She tried focusing chakra to anywhere she could tie a sense to, eventually just creating a constant pressure of chakra within herself; it didn't sharpen her senses like she expected, instead seeming to lock her senses into their higher states, letting her relax for a moment, smiling when the world was still slower while she was calm. After reigning her chakra back in, her senses all came down at once, making the world seem a little duller, though Tsukiko was fairly sure she could live with it only being super-vivid every now and then. It was still far more beautiful now than when she was a human.

As Lee and Kiba took their positions, Tsukiko tried starting out with the "chakra pressure" trick, finding that it did indeed boost her senses up to the slowing level. If this is what she could do in a day, with chakra she didn't fully grasp yet, she wasn't surprised that Kenji could repel and entire force of ninja without moving; to him, they probably crawled toward him at a snail's pace, revealing their intent long before they made it near him.

She almost shuddered to think what Hikari was capable of then, having a tenth tail to add into the mix on top of her centuries of experience. Of course, that brought up an interesting question as to who was better at fighting; Hikari obviously had more raw power, but Kenji had actually been trained, not to mention he actually seemed to enjoy combat as opposed to Hikari who used a style all about dodging.

She shook herself from her thoughts as Kiba and Lee began round three, though she noticed Lee moving closer to normal speed; he was probably speeding up to test her, meaning that a fast enough opponent would force her to fight normally. Of course slowing the world meant that, in all truth, Lee was probably hauling ass right now to be moving almost normally to Tsukiko's eyes.

For the time being Tsukiko was done with dodging, however, deciding to meet every attack with two of her own; one to cancel her opponent's and one to strike back at them. It was a strategy that would take some effort, seeing as she still had trouble moving her tails individually, but practice makes perfect after all, she thought to herself.

∞҉Ӝ҉∞

"Hey short-stuff." Jiraiya greeted, walking into Minato's office with a wave as the young Yondaime looked up from his paperwork.

"You haven't called me that in years; what's the occasion?" Minato asked, quickly signing a paper and putting it in the "out" bin, leaving his des k clear.

"Just recalling fond memories." The Sannin replied, sitting down on the couch.

"So what are you here to talk about?" Minato questioned, resting his cheek against his palm. Today had been pretty slow all things considered; no reports of Tsukiko accidentally breaking one of her friends with unintentional strength, nothing bad from the academy. He wasn't unhappy, just bored and a little drained from having spent most of his day keeping himself mentally ready for both occasions and many more; needless to say, it had made the day seem longer and more boring when nothing happened.

"Still a quick read, I see." Jiraiya chuckled, shaking his head, "I was coming to talk about Tsukiko and Hikari, but I'm not sure I have much to say yet."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I was going to ask you how you and Kushina are handling it. We're trying to be supportive grandparents because we trust Tsukiko's judgement and Hikari seems earnest enough, but we're probably keeping as much of an eye on them as you are. " Jiraiya replied, adding jokingly a moment later, "Of course, we don't have the Anbu at our disposal."

Minato sighed and pressed a button on his desk, talking into the speaker and letting the secretary know that he wanted a few minutes undisturbed.

"That bad, huh?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, just not something I really want someone walking in on. Can you do me a favor and lock the doors really quick?"

"Gotta keep up the charade?"

"That everything is okay and that this hasn't weakened my family somehow? I'd like to think that's the truth, but you know how ninja get; one chink in your armor, there or not, and someone is going to throw every kunai they own at it." Minato replied, shaking his head. "Didn't Sarutobi used to say that a lot?"

"I think he got it from the Nidaime to be honest." Jiraiya replied, "But it's still holding true. So what is up, oh student of mine? That's what the kids are talking like these days, right?"

"Kami, I hope not. Last thing we need is a generation talking like an old pervert trying to stay _hip to the times_." Minato joked, shaking his head. "As for what's up, I don't really know anymore. I guess you really shouldn't meet your heroes or you enemies; might realize they're people too."

"Having trouble hating Hikari and Kenji, are we?"

"I figured I'd warm up to Hikari; I mean, Tsukiko is in pretty deep with her. Plus she's just too damn nice to really hate; it's like hating a puppy for no reason. I figured I could justify it by saying ninja don't get anywhere by staying the same, or at least justify it to myself and keep acting like I hated them, but that's falling through too. I'm sure I'd be able to hate Kenji for everything he's done, but the fucker is just so…. Sorry and sad about what he's done. It's like if you don't give him something to do he'll just sit there and be… depressed, I guess would be the right word. You can't fake that level of sorrow, and to be honest it makes me feel sorry for him; if I fucked up like that I'd have to live with it for another sixty years, tops. It's a long time for us, but he's going to be dealing with this for the next couple centuries apparently, and then not die. It's honestly been driving me up the wall; they're… human."

"If it makes you feel any better, I understand how you feel. I wasn't expecting them to be so… well, not different. I mean, the culture gap is pretty big and plain to see, but they're not that different."

"Yep."

There was silence for a time as Minato just took in the comforting knowledge that he wasn't alone in terms of opinion.

"Kushina had less of a problem with the whole Bijou thing, but it was still there."

"The Kimiko incident?"

"The Kimiko incident."

Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. He supposed that it would have been an unpleasant memory for the duration of Kushina's life, but at the same time he had hoped she'd be over it and willing to accept Tsukiko's sexuality if it ever came to pass that Tsukiko preferred the company of women.

The Kimiko Incident was the most non-triggering way to refer to the fact that Kushina had been in a lesbian relationship earlier in life, and as per usual with relationships formed in the throes of rebellion she thought it would last forever. When it didn't—and by her telling, the end was unnecessarily harsh and cruel—it affected her deeply. She fell into this sort of angry depression, the later portion of which being when she met Minato.

Jiraiya could see her having issues with Tsukiko and Hikari, just worrying about her getting hurt by a similar situation, but it was still something that happened years before.

"Far be it from me to question a father and mother about how they handle what their child does, I suppose." Jiraiya remarked, shrugging. "I mean, I really don't think it's common for any couple to have the complete blessing of either set of parents."

Minato had been absently spinning in his chair up until that point, pondering the complexities of having a teenage daughter. He stopped mid-spin upon hearing that however, furrowing his brow.

"You know—and I'm not saying this in hopes they disapprove, really—I've never heard mention of Hikari's parents. I mean, obviously I haven't known her that long, but I feel like in some of the conversations I had with Tsukiko about all of this they might have come up in passing mention if nothing else."

"Well don't look at me. Maybe Hikari just doesn't talk about them much; might not be on good terms with them either. Of course, demons might just not have strong family ties." Jiraiya responded, shrugging yet again. "Not my area of specialty. Well, wait, isn't Hikari old? Like, pretty damn old?"

"Yeah. Actually that's another thing that kinda bugs me, but I suppose demons live for a long ass time, so maybe Hikari isn't that old."

"She acts old enough that she might just be considered a woman to her people; she might not need to mention her parents because their approval is mostly just for peace of mind rather than a key factor."

Minato joined his sensei in shrugging.

"Do you think I should ask her what her parents think about all of this? Oh hell, what if she's an orphan? Then suddenly I'm the bad guy. Fucking hell."

"Minato, you're doing that thing again where you over-think shit." Jiraiya laughed, shaking his head. "If you need to know, ask."

"Look, just because you're old enough to do something stupid and blame it on senility doesn't mean everyone can."

"…Hey gaki, do you remember the first thing I taught you?"

"Yeah, wasn't it how to act like your son so that you could use me as bait for loose women who like the whole "struggling single dad" schtick?" Minato asked, recalling that night fondly. He had been rightly annoyed at the time, but looking back it was one of the funnier memories of his youth.

"No, before that."

"Uhh… the only thing coming to mind is "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a kunai", or something like that. Why?" Minato asked, not liking how Jiraiya was laughing.

"Because it's wrench time gaki!"

Minato's secretary wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but everyone in the lobby was looking at the door as several bangs and crashes were heard; before the Anbu moved in, the doors burst open, throwing both of said Anbu aside as Minato ran for his life. A wrench chucking Jiraiya was charging close behind him, chucking a seemingly endless supply of wrenches at the blonde Yondaime, shouting things along the lines of:

"Oh come on! I'm just a little senile, it's alright!"

As the Anbu picked themselves up, the newer guard looked to his veteran partner.

"Should we… go after them?"

"Do you want to get hit in the face with a wrench?"

"No sir."

"Well, there ya go."

* * *

Sorry if I missed anything while proofreading; I finished this pretty tired.

I don't know why I decided to end this chapter here. I think it's because things are actually happening at the end of this chapter, and I didn't want this chapter to end with something ending. It feels like it lacks the closure that I normally have at a chapter's end, but I wanted to test this out. Sorta… cliff-hanger-y without really being a cliffhanger.

I was thinking about a small scene where everyone was eating dinner and we learn about how Kenji and Hikari's first day as senseis went, along with a brief mentioning of Hikari's parents, but I decided I'd rather do that in the next chapter since this is pretty close to the normal length.

Ja Ne, my freaky darlings!


	12. Opportunity

OaKaaLD chapter 12(according to my computer) coming at ya, my most Freaky of Darlings!

Just kidding; the people getting off to Whedabra from my story Aria of the Moonless Night are the Freakiest among you. Theoretically. Don't take that as a challenge.

* * *

Color danced before Kenji's closed eyes, each and every shade a soundless symphony that let him view the world around him in a way that only he could; a terribly depressing thought that reminded him that he was, indeed, the last Asura in the world.

To him though, the world the Waves showed him was the true world; what his eyes would show him was a false vision. Just something that came into existence after the Waves converged. It was in the world that many thought to be one of eternal darkness that the true power of an Asura could be harnessed however, and it was a bridge he had yet to cross. He knew the potion by heart of course, and he should have taken it near the beginning of his training, but something had always stopped him. Ultimately though some apparently compelling argument that Kenji couldn't recall, he had convinced his mentor to let him keep his sight until he was ready.

He could freely walk between the worlds like this, though there was something waiting for him in the world of Waves that he couldn't bring to the waking world; his sword. The unbreakable, intangible blade made of his own waves that would open his Wave eye. Moonblade was the only non-blind Asura aside from himself, though the Saint's eyes simply recovered from blindness at a rate that rendered even repeated treatment pointless; still, Moonblade was proof that you could eventually get your wave sword to function without blindness.

The Village had something that somewhat mimicked the ability to view the Wave world; the Byakugan, he believed it to be called. Kenji wasn't sure where it came from, as opposed to the Sharingan; that one had been a bit of an accident on his part. During one of the years where he was still in beast form but not totally rampaging he had agreed to give his blood to a human who had appealed to him; an old fool that reminded him of his mentor; theoretically Kenji could conjure the Sharingan for himself, but he had a feeling it came from the fusion of human and demon blood, and his eyes were good enough for him regardless. Apparently that man had gone on to pass those eyes to his descendants, all the way down to Sasuke and Itachi.

The brothers were very interesting to Kenji; Itachi due to his mastery of the Sharingan—which should have driven him totally insane due to the fact it came from demonic blood—and Sasuke due to his incredibly stable wavelength for someone with insanity technically inherent in his blood.

Kenji was half-broken away from his thoughts by Hikari's approach; the world of waves wasn't something that limited him to seeing only in front of him, after all.

"Lunch is almost over. We're going to have to get back to work." She started, leaning against a tree nearby. The nibi scoffed.

"Work would imply that we're making progress."

"Effort has to count for something." Hikari replied, watching the nibi stand and stretch a bit. "But you can only push so hard before you realize you're trying to move a mountain."

"My point exactly." Kenji remarked, rubbing his neck. "It wasn't exactly a promising idea from the start; humans have grown to hate and fear us, here especially." Kenji waited for a moment, expecting an optimistic response from Hikari. It was almost worrying when he heard nothing from her, causing him to look up and see her eyes glazed over like she was lost in thought. "Hikari, are you alright?"

"Huh? O-oh, yeah, I'm fine." Hikari stuttered out, blushing.

"So who were you daydreaming about?" Kenji snickered, knowing that Tsukiko had the ability to distract the Juubi even if she was nowhere nearby.

"Not who, where." Hikari replied, confusing Kenji.

"Where?"

"Yeah. Back in Spring Country." Hikari almost whispered it, leaning against a tree.

"Are you okay?"

"It's been… almost a thousand years." The words were a mixture of confusion and regret, rife with the sort of emotion that Kenji did his best to avoid. "Kenji, what if… what if that village died without me?"

The question caught the nibi off guard to the point where he was standing with his jaw hanging for several seconds before he composed himself enough to answer.

"Okkma?" He asked, only vaguely recalling the name of the village. He hadn't heard any news of it in quite some time, though he hadn't exactly been keeping an ear to the ground. "I… Hikari, humans are pretty resilient fuckers; I doubt that you leaving would have affected their survival chances."

She was quiet for a while after that, long enough that Kenji was considering saying something more. He watched as time swirled in her eyes, centuries of memories playing through her mind over the course of those awkwardly silent minutes.

"The weather up there was always pretty harsh. I kept the worst of the storms away and taught them how to keep the ground fertile." Hikari muttered. "I told the Wise Woman I didn't know when I'd be back… but what if they were lost to the snow because of my absence?"

"Hikari, I am not the one you should be talking to about this." Kenji replied gently, "First of all, I have a difficult time sympathizing with anyone. Secondly, Tsukiko is the one courting you and would no doubt be infinitely more understanding than I am about this whole thing. Failing that, talk to the Old-Ones—I mean, Jiraiya and Tsunade."

"Sorry." Hikari apologized, wiping a nervous tear from her cheek. "I hope Tsukiko doesn't mind me talking about… do you think that I shouldn't talk to her about this? I mean, this is a lot heavier than anything she—"

"Hikari, forgive the bluntness but if Tsukiko can't listen to your emotional issues then this Courtship is doomed from the start." Kenji cut in, his words earning him a glare. "Don't give me that look."

"Well you just said…Argh! You haven't gotten any better at talking to people since we were kids!"

"Well no shit; half my life was learning how to be an Asura and the other half was losing my shit in some mad dash for power because I was trying to prove something to… fuck I don't even know if it was you or me anymore." Kenji snapped back, growling, "Nowhere in my life did I learn whatever gentleness you seem to think I should possess."

"Well I didn't tell you to go try and be a badass to impress me!"

"Well what the ever-loving-_fuck_ did you want me to do? Hikari, you were the only one who would ever fucking put up with my shit and then you rejected me. The fuck was I supposed to do?" Kenji shouted, tails striking the air behind him angrily.

"Well first off you should have figured I wasn't going to say yes! I've _NEVER_ liked men, and to be honest I was a little hurt that you tried to use jewelry to squeeze a yes out of me!"

"I wasn't trying to squeeze a yes out of you, it was a fucking Courtship gift! And I know that you never had a thing for guys, but I was hoping you'd at least give me a shot! Sorry for getting my hopes up!"

"And the response to my no was _"Oh, I think I'll go on a quest for power and just fuck shit up left and right."_?!"

"You fucking told me that I wasn't strong enough!"

"I meant keep training and maybe meet someone who hasn't been homosexual since day one, not go bat-shit insane! I was kinda hinting about the fact you were still pretty immature through the whole speech you made me give you too!"

"I made you give a speech?! Where the fuck-"

"You would not leave it alone after I just said no. You said "Give me a reason, tell me why", and I did. I said everything I could possibly think of!"

Iruka wasn't entirely sure what to do at this point; the two had been standing in the trees, shouting at each-other in some language that he didn't understand, for the past few minutes. As they continued to shout in tones that made him sure he was hearing demonic expletives en masse, he debated on stepping in to break up the shouting match or stay out of the shitstorm. Mizuki stood beside him, eying the two Bijou cautiously.

"Do you think we should…?"

"There's this little voice in the back of my head with a microphone screaming at me "no", so I think I'm just going to stay out of it and hope they finish their argument soon… and without explosions." Mizuki replied, nervously chuckling.

"Class is about to start."

"And I'd hate to have my funeral right afterwards."

"True."

With a final shout that sounded like the demonic equvilant of "Fuck this", the two chuunin watched Kenji storm off while Hikari turned on her heel and walked off in the opposite direction.

∞҉Ӝ҉∞

Tsukiko felt her elements within her as she fought against Neji, Shikamaru and Tenten, knowing with every motion what could be unleashed in retaliation. It had been a revelation born in training, in the midst of combat, and one that she hadn't yet shared with Hikari despite the two weeks that had passed since the discovery. The Kyuubi intended it to be a surprise during the Chuunin exams, along with how she had altered the Kaze Mai.

Lightning and Fire now influenced her dodging and striking more than Wind; no longer did she merely tire the opponent out by dodging. Now she ducked and weaved through attacks, dodging at the last second and striking seemingly at random throughout the chaotic dance as she mimicked dancing flames and arcing lightning. Neji had been forced to remain cautious in his assault; Hinata had healed more than a few burns from Tsukiko's strikes.

The burns had come from the flames that licked Tsukiko's hands, feet, and tail-tips; the amethyst fire left her unscathed and—as her three opponents found out—added a great deal of danger to even brief contact. As it stood, all three of them had lost about 15 articles of clothing collectively to the rapidly spreading flames.

It had come as a relief to whoever sparred with her that Lightning was significantly harder to channel properly; Fire had actually been extremely simple to understand and call forth. All she had to do was will it into existence and POOF! Flaming strikes.

Lighting, though considered a primary element in chakra, was a secondary element in terms of elemental manipulation under Air's domain, which pertained to thought. Thinking about having her attacks have lightning didn't spawn it into existence, and trying to will it only made the fires bigger. She could still feel it arcing within her movements, perhaps manifesting in her agility, but it seemed that fire would be her offensive weapon for the time being.

Failing that, she had gone far towards her goal of mastering the Chidori; Kakashi was the only one to know thus far and had offered only enough help to make sure Tsukiko wouldn't hurt herself, saying that the Chidori was difficult to teach since lightning chakra functioned a little differently for everyone. Hikari knew as well of course, though Tsukiko's progress was a secret to the Juubi; another surprise for the Chuunin exams.

Neji dashed forward, committing to a full assault while Tenten unleashed a hail of blades. Tsukiko deftly dodged, darting and swaying all around Neji and the blades and striking the Hyuuga more than a few times through the dance. The lethargy that the world seemed to be afflicted with let her flip out of the way of Shikamaru's shadow, hardly feeling the kunai that grazed her cheek.

The wound itched like crazy as the skin knitted back together; minor injuries like that took about 10 seconds to heal, provided there weren't too many and a more serious injury wasn't present. The worst she had gotten was a kunai in her gut, which had hurt like hell and had brought the Kyuubi to her knees until it had been removed and healed, the latter taking roughly 7 minutes. Had the blade gone deeper and hit something vital it could have taken even longer, or disabled her longer.

Tsukiko was finding a balance between dodging and taking hits; she could probably absorb all of Neji's strikes and keep fighting without her chakra hindered, or take a few of Tenten's weapons grazing her in favor of striking in either situation, but the simple fact that it hurt stopped her. She didn't know if a high pain tolerance would come of a lot of injuries, but even with the knowledge that pretty much anything would heal Tsukiko found herself fearing being hit.

She tried not to view it as fear fueling her nimble dance, but the pain was what kept her moving so swiftly.

"Time-out." Shikamaru called, coming out from behind a tree and wiping some sweat from his brow; Tsukiko was getting exceedingly better at dodging multiple attackers at once; the fact that her dance made him have to avoid hitting Neji had made the whole even draining. "I need to rest up if we're going to keep this pace up."

"Geez, for a Chunin you're lazy as hell." Tenten deadpanned, sighing afterwards and heading off to gather up her weapons

"You're not the one who has to dodge the fire." Neji replied, patting out some smoldering cloth on his shoulder. Hinata was already there, healing the burns and shooting Tsukiko a half-glare for making her have to continually patch them up.

Tsukiko mouthed a sorry and extinguished her fire, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"Tsukiko, can you get lunch? I think everyone could use a breather." Shikamaru called out, laying down under a tree. "It's your turn to get it."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Just get something for me to write it all down on; I am not trying to commit everything to memory." Tsukiko shouted back, tails twitching. She had been avoiding walking through town ever since she had been healed up; somehow she doubted the villagers would be totally accepting of her now. A few here and there had been kind, but then again she hadn't been through Konoha without her father and Hikari nearby, generally with Kenji or Jiraiya relatively close.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked, walking over and handing a pencil and a blank scroll to Tsukiko. The Inuzuka chuckled sheepishly when she gave him a look, "I don't think anyone has anything else to write on."

"Well Tenten might but there's probably already a weapon in it." Tsukiko giggled, getting a punch on the shoulder and a smile from the weapon user as she walked by. "I think I'm just going to run to Ichiraku; I get a pretty big discount because of how often my dad and I stop by. I try not to go to places that just give me a discount because I'm the Hokage's daughter; I feel awkward accepting it, you know?"

"Not really, I'd just take the discount and anything else they'd give me." Kiba laughed, getting a flick on the forehead from the Kyuubi. "That hurts you know!" He shouted, rubbing the spot.

"Oh stop whining; that was nothing." Tsukiko replied, unrolling the scroll enough to write.

"She could have set it on fire first, Kiba-kun."

Tsukiko turned and saw Sakura drawing near, Kakashi not far behind her.

"Hey Sakura; what are you doing here?" Normally the bubblegum-haired ninja would be off with Kakashi and Sasuke, getting very focused training in order to try and help close the gap that Tsukiko's transformation had made while the demoness practiced her combat skills against varying opponents. It wasn't odd to have them show up near the end of the matches and such to get in some sparring, but it was oddly early and Sasuke wasn't with them.

"Well I was hoping you knew where Sasuke was; We were waiting for him for a while. Kakashi-sensei helped me with trap designs and healing jutsu, but after a few hours we decided to see if he was here."

"He… no, he hasn't shown up here as far as I know. Did you try his house? Might be sick or something." Tsukiko suggested, though she didn't think that there had ever been an instance of the Uchiha being sick. Still, there had to be a first time for everything. "I'm about to head out and get lunch for everyone; I could stop by his house but it's a bit out of the way."

"I'll go check." Kakashi offered, giving an eye smile. "Sakura, why don't you help Tsukiko carry the food and catch up a bit; you two have been running yourselves ragged in training and some time to socialize might be good for you."

With that the copy ninja was off, casually strolling away while the rest of the training group walked over. A few asked what Kakashi had wanted, most greeted Sakura, and all of them handed over some money alongside their orders.

"I'm glad you're coming Sakura… Even with the tails I don't think I can carry this much." Tsukiko deadpanned as the two walked towards Konoha. "How has training been going?"

"It's been going good; really fast too. With you gone most of the time Kakashi can focus on both of us more… okay, that sounded a little bad; no offense but so far you taking care of your whole sparring thing is the best thing to happen to my ninja career." Sakura offered the statement alongside a nervously joking tone, knowing that it hadn't really been funny. Tsukiko picked up on that and laughed to give the girl some sense of ease; she wasn't offended and quite frankly she was glad they were getting so much done. "Sasuke is pretty self-regulating so Kakashi usually sets him up with a task—like a jutsu or working on his taijutsu—and then comes to help me. I know just about everything I'll need, it's just putting it into practice that I'm worried about."

"You'll be fine Sakura; You'll have me and Sasuke there too you know." Tsukiko smiled, her lips falling as Sakura frowned.

"I don't… Tsukiko, I'm tired of being the weakest member of this team; I don't want to have to keep being rescued by you two!"

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"No one ever does but…!" Sakura sighed, taking a breath and shaking her head. "I'm sorry; I know it's not really anyone's fault, but between you and Sasuke I kinda have inferiority issues. I was never as fast and strong as Sasuke, and you just became a demoness who may well be able to match Kakashi in raw power. Even before that you were still a better ninja than I was."

"I don't think it's fair to be comparing anyone to me." Tsukiko deadpanned, "Because in terms of getting power, this was like putting in every cheat-code imaginable." She motioned to all of herself, getting a light laugh from Sakura. There was a period of silence between the two as they walked, getting closer to Konoha's center.

"Was it worth it?"

"What?"

"Becoming a demon?" Sakura asked, the word "demon" coming out so softly that Tsukiko almost missed it.

"Why?" Sakura's response was to dart her eyes to the side, drawing Tsukiko's attention. The Kyuubi let her eyes drop to the ground for a moment afterwards, feeling a pang in her heart. "In the end I won't have any doubts about that question. Right now though… I don't know how to handle this."

Konoha general population, which Tsukiko now realized wasn't as accepting as she thought, hadn't taken Tsukiko's choice or the presence of two Bijou too kindly. As it stood, only her father's power had stopped anyone from taking action; it was common knowledge through some demented grapevine that she didn't have a full grasp on her powers, so Tsukiko knew that being a Kyuubi wasn't doing her any good. At least not in the sense of stopping people from acting, anyway.

Still, the worst she had thus far had to deal with was the glares and dirty looks; doing anything more, even just refusing her service, had the threat of angering Minato attached to it. Of course, the Yondaime was fairly pissed that she was being shunned in any way—not particularly surprised, but not happy about it either.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to… I shouldn't have asked." Sakura hastily apologized. She tried to explain, but cut herself off every time, thinking that what she was about to say would make things even worse.

"It's alright Sakura. I kinda knew this was going to happen… I just hoped it wouldn't." Tsukiko replied, trying to calm Sakura down; in truth, she had never considered what Konoha would be like to her post-transformation. There were pockets of acceptance here and there; the Ichiraku staff, Ayame and Itachi, the Rookie 9 and Gai's team, and her family obviously—in their own way.

In truth, the more she thought about it the more she wasn't sure why she was even trying. Anyone who didn't know that she had once been the Jinchuuriki for a Kyuubi now knew, and certainly everyone knew that she was a demoness now. It didn't even matter that she and Kenji were different; ultimately they were both nine-tailed foxes, which no doubt made them one in the same for those whose wounds refused to heal.

Hikari and Kenji's presence hadn't exactly been helping the situation either; she had heard whispers of how some villagers were talking about leaving because Konoha was being secretly controlled by "the Demons". That and the fact they hadn't made any progress at the Academy was proof as well that they weren't winning any hearts. It felt like everyone was closing their minds and hearts about learning that not all Demons were bad.

The ninjas were better than the Civilians, but having one's presence justified in a way that thought of you as a potential weapon wasn't exactly fun either. Above and beyond her friends and family there wasn't much keeping her here; Hikari used to travel, and no doubt the Juubi would travel the world with her without minding much, if any.

"Tsukiko? Are you okay?" Sakura asked, having turned around to see the Kyuubi standing still a few paces behind. She had been pretty quiet and pensive through the last few minutes, but Tuskiko looked flat out depressed now.

"I… I dunno. Just realized I'm weighing options when I didn't think I was." She replied, not intending to be so cryptic

"Options?"

"I'm not really sure. I just kinda… realized that an idle thought was kind of an option. Something that might be kinda logical."

"Like what? You're being kinda vague right now." Sakura wasn't entirely sure what Tsukiko was talking about, but she had a feeling it wasn't going to be anything good with how her friend was talking about it.

"Let's say… you were a fish. Like for the purposes of a question." Tsukiko proposed, trying to keep her thoughts straight enough to be vague with.

"Blub blub." Sakura brought he hands up to her face to make a poor mimic of a fish, getting a laugh from Tsukiko that spread quickly to both of them. "Ask away."

"Okay, you're a fish—a little fish—and you're looking for a place to swim. You're not the best swimmer, but you can do well enough on your own; You've also got a bigger fish that will help you if the current is too strong." Tsukiko started, hoping this wasn't too thinly veiled, "You have two choices."

"Okay. Blub."

"Stop making that face! I can't concentrate if you're making me laugh so much!" Tsukiko stifled a laugh with her hand, ignoring the fishy attempts to provoke more giggling. "You have two choices: You can either stay in the river or go to the Ocean. The river is familiar, but pretty much all the fish don't want you to be there; The Ocean is sort of a new start and maybe holds some adventure, but you have no idea what'll happen."

"I… guess I'd pick the ocean. I mean, the river sounds kinda shitty when you think about it." Sakura replied, shrugging, "What brought this on?"

"Well… I'm starting to feel like the river doesn't want me around… and I have an awfully bigger fish to watch my back."

Before she could react, Sakura had grabbed her arm and shunshinned to the top of a nearby building, leaving the Kyuubi slightly off balance from the sudden change in location. Before Tsukiko could even ask when she had learned to shunshin Sakura cut her off with a harsh whisper.

"Are you talking about defecting?" She asked, concern plastered across her face with flecks of disbelief embedded in it.

"No! I mean, I'd resign as a ninja first so it'd be more like… well, I mean I wouldn't be going nuke-nin or anything. I just got to thinking about it and ninety percent of the village isn't going to accept me… I mean, why not leave for a while and see the world a bit while people let things sink in."

"Tsukiko, you of all people should know how convoluted the rules are for former ninja; They won't just let you walk out the gate with the Juubi just because you resigned as a ninja. Didn't you want to be the Hokage one day too?"

"I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to be the Hokage anymore though; we need to have new kage every now and then, and I wouldn't be getting old and letting the young take over. I'd get stale after a while, you know? And that's only if they let me be the Hokage in the first place; it's not that hard to figure out that I'm a lesbian demoness. Neither, as you know, are descriptions that the people of Konoha are particularly in love with!"

"So you're just up and leaving?" Sakura asked, stunned.

"Well I'd… leave a note or something. I don't know, alright?!" Tsukiko shouted, doing her best to not do the thunder-voice trick. "We've been here a while now, and no one outside of friends I already had were particularly eager to talk to me; even you guys admitted you were scared of me at first! Maybe it'd be alright if I went on a walkabout or something, you know?"

"Did Hikari bring this up?"

"What? No, She's been pretty tied up complaining with Kenji about the academy. I mean, she's… I feel like she's a bit unhappy living in the village, but she hasn't said anything."

Sakura couldn't get a response out beyond a sigh and a shake of her head. She rested her hand on her friend's shoulder, sighing again.

"Tsukiko, please don't do anything stupid or rash, okay? I know it seems bad, but I'm sure the villagers will grow to like you if you give them some time, you know?"

"That's what I want to do though! I'm giving them some time."

"Just… make the "Not going to do something stupid" promise. For me?"

"Fine; I promise not to do anything stupid." Tsukiko grumbled, turning and deciding to roof hop to the restaurant with Sakura close behind. She already had a loose plan, but she wanted to talk to Hikari and see what she felt.

∞҉Ӝ҉∞

"Can we talk about something upstairs for a minute?"

The question had come at the same time from both of them, slightly nervous and quiet in both cases. A pair of nods and blushes followed, a quick ascension of stairs shortly after that, and the discreet closing of a door closing the silent journey.

"Do you want to go first?" Tsukiko asked, wincing a little when Hikari shook her head; she didn't want to downplay the Juubi's emotions, but Tsukiko had a feeling that her own topic was a bit farther off the deep end.

"I'd rather not go first if that's alright. What's bothering you?" Hikari asked, tails betraying how nervous she was.

Tsukiko took a breath, reminding herself that she had spent all afternoon trying to figure out how to bring this up .

"I am… thinking about maybe—that is, I've just been noticing that… uh…" She mentally kicked herself for stumbling so badly after practicing so much, "I don't know about whether or not I want to be a ninja, and to make things worse I don't think half the villagers are ever going to accept me. Or you. Kenji either."

Hikari was quiet for a few seconds, eventually pulling Tsukiko into her lap for an embrace.

"I understand what you mean. The Academy project seems doomed to fail, and I am not listened to for whatever reasons they choose; Konoha is not eager to accept us, though it pains me to say it about your home." Hikari lamented, holding Tsukiko close. For a time, all the younger demoness did was sit and listen to Hikari's heartbeat; after a minute had passed the Juubi broke the silence and spared Tsukiko from having to answer. "I… needed to talk to you about something. Do you remember when you were told Demons were once called Gods?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Once, I was worshipped as a Goddess of the Harvest. I found a village almost lost to the snow in spring country, struggling to get by as the people starved and the livestock died; I couldn't _not_ do anything, so I stopped the storm that was hitting them and showed them how to grow plants in such weather. I was only going to stay for a season or so, then leave; I didn't want the whole worship thing lasting a while. I…stayed though. I stayed for hundreds of years, generation after generation; I got them to stop calling me a goddess after a while, but there was still this reverence for me that was… I mean, it was nice really, but I would have been more comfortable with being called by my name. Then, almost a thousand years ago, I told them I had to go back to wandering the world; I was too stir crazy to stay there any longer. The climate was less extreme and they were better prepared for storms than when I had shown up anyway, so I told myself they'd be fine. But… well it's been a thousand years and seeing Konoha has made me worry about whether Okkma is even still standing. I mean, what if a blizzard came through right after I left and they all died? What if they forgot what I taught them? I mean, so many things could have gone wrong…"

"It's alright, Hikari-chan. I'm sure they're all alright because of what you taught them; you're a good teacher like that." Tsukiko smiled, gently kissing Hikari to calm her down a little. She pulled back and looked into the Juubi's eyes, cupping her cheek while her thumb traced her cheekbone.

The idea struck her so quickly that Tsukiko froze for a moment, confusing the Juubi and then startling her when the kunoichi cupped her other cheeks and pulled her in for a much more passionate kiss. Before Hikari could properly respond, Tsukiko pulled back with a wide smile.

"What are you…?"

"Let's go!"

"What?... Wait, _What_?!" Hikari half-shouted, unsure of whether or not she was understanding Tsukiko's meaning.

"Let's go check on Okkma; come on, I want to get some breathing room from Konoha for a while, and you want to go check on Okkma! We can go together and kill two birds with one stone!" Tsukiko was practically bouncing with excitement.

"What about the Chuunin exams? Even if I carried you and ran it would still take several days to reach Okkma, and… well if we're going on a trip together…"

"I want it to take a while; I don't even know if I want to be a ninja anymore, and if nothing else I need time to get away from everything and think. I can't do that here." Tsukiko explained with a smile, shifting until she was straddling Hikari's lap and putting her arms loosely around her shoulders to that she could look into the Juubi's eyes. "I want to run away with you, Hikari-chan. Let's go see Okkma, and maybe the rest of the world while we're out. Have some adventures, make some memories."

Hikari let her hands debate on what to do for a moment before placing them on Tsukiko's hips, resisting the urge to try and untuck her haori so that she could rest her hands on the kunoichi's bare skin. This was definitely the most intimate position they had been in so far though, and it was taking enough effort not to imagine where this could lead.

"Careful, you might just tempt me back to my old ways of wandering… but I'd have to spirit you away with me." Hikari playfully warned, biting her lip as Tsukiko scooted a little closer and pressed herself against her. The kunoichi leaned in, stopping just close enough for Hikari to feel her words strike her lips.

"Steal me away Hikari-chan; steal me and never let me go."

"Gladly."

The silence, broken only by the soft sounds of love, went largely unnoticed by the two of them as they reveled in what intimacy they could give at that time. The kiss hadn't been the start of their obliviousness, of course, and only when they heard a knock at the door did they realize that someone was there. Tsukiko sprung back and Hikari stood up, both of them looking fairly petrified and frazzled.

"W-who is it?" Tsukiko called, quickly straightening herself in the mirror while Hikari followed suit.

"Jiraiya; you know, the old guy whose visiting."

"Come on in…" Tsukiko called back after a quick look at Hikari, who nodded.

The toad sannin opened the door and stepped in, giving a small wave to Hikari as he shut the door behind him.

"Look, it's late and I'm feeling my age tonight, so I'm going to skip the mindfucks that I could get away with right now." He started, doing a few handseals. When the windows and doors flashed blue for a moment, signaling the room was soundproofed, he continued, "Running away right before the chuunin exams probably isn't the best of plans you know."

Hikari and Tuskiko paled simultaneously, hoping that Jiraiya was the only one who overheard them. If nothing else he was reasonable.

"I… uh…I was going to come back… you know… eventually." Tsukiko flushed, looking away.

"She would have been safe with me. I know my way around the world." Hikari tried to defend, though Jiraiya cut her off from more with a raised hand.

"Running off no matter how safe or brief isn't particularly smart when you consider your situation. You're the Yondaime's daughter, and on top of that you're a bijou; you also don't have a clear goal or a firm grasp on your powers." He explained, leaning against the door as the two bijou just looked more embarrassed to have been caught. "Now, taking off on a training trip is a lot more respectable. One for the sake of, let's say… learning to control your power, maybe finding what your place in the world is… not many could throw a bitch fit about that. Of course you'd need a teacher to go along; a powerful ninja, well respected and with enough experience to just take the Hokage's own daughter off on a training trip. A massive spy network might also be helpful; keep everyone in touch over the trip, make sure you know what's going on in the world and when the shit's gonna hit the fan."

There was utter silence in the room as he finished, folding his arms in mock thought like he was trying to think of someone to fill the role.

"Jiraiya… are you offering to…?" Tsukiko started, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Hmm? Oh, I suppose I do fit the bill. I mean, between Hikari, Tsunade, and myself you'd be able to learn just about everything you'd need. Plus, everyone loves the noble act of distancing one's self from one's home for the safety of your friends and family; I should know, I write about it enough. Kind of a nice plan to get away, if you ask me. Of course, there are a few conditions!" Jiraiya quickly added, though it didn't stop Tsukiko from almost taking him through the door from the sudden impact her hug created.

"Thank you!"

"Indeed, this means a lot to us Jiraiya." Hikari bowed her head, making Jiraiya almost laugh.

"The Juubi bowing her head to me; well, now I have seen everything. Still, don't you want to hear the conditions before you start packing?"

"I have a feeling it's not going to be that big of a deal compared to what we're getting out of this." Hikari replied, smiling, "But yes, we'd love to hear the conditions."

Jiraiya nodded and managed to pry Tsukiko off of him before she broke a rib, at which point she promptly darted to Hikari and caught her in a hug that probably would have snapped the Toad sannin in half.

"Alright, first thing is that if we say it's a training trip then it needs to be a training trip; we're actually going to have to put a fair bit of effort into making sure you can handle what you have now, and then we need to refine it. I don't really care what you two are doing in the downtime, but this is not a vacation, okay?" Jiraiya started, getting nods when he paused, "Good. Second condition, and this is where we might start having issues, Kenji is probably going to have to stay here; there might be issues if all three of you leave the village at once, and you have more to teach her than he does, alright Hikari?"

"That's… that's fine. Kenji and I would do well with some time to cool off; we had a bit of a fight earlier and neither of us has quite recovered from old wounds." Hikari explained, sighing, "Though we should give him some notice just to be nice, I suppose."

"What was it about?" Tsukiko asked, loosening her grip enough to look Hikari in the eyes with a worried expression.

"Part of it was Okkma, part of it was the fact he used to have a thing for me. I'll explain it all on the trip if you want."

"If you don't mind…" Tsukiko replied, though she definitely wanted to hear more about Kenji's "thing" for her.

"Wonderful. Now then, the third condition is that we have to clear it with your father. I was actually talking to him earlier about maybe getting you to do something like this to make sure you had a firm grip on your abilities, so hopefully it won't be that hard. Fourth… is more of a personal favor that you can say no to, if you don't mind me asking."

Hikari and Tsukiko shared a look before nodding to him to continue, not knowing what he could have wanted.

"You know I'm an author, right? It's been 90% smut through the years, I'll admit, but it was well written smut. The market has been shifting towards… well, stories, and I've been getting a lot of requests for… well, Yuri stories. I always prided myself on realistic characters and interactions between them, but… well I've hit kind of a brick wall on that. I'm not saying I'd use your names or base characters off of you, but if you wouldn't mind me taking the occasional note on how you interact, it'd help me immensely. Nothing sexual or too personal, just how you interact on the day-to-day basis."

"I…am not sure how to respond to that." Hikari started, looking at Tsukiko afterwards.

"Let us think about that one, alright? It's… kinda creepy."

"I'm aware; people-watching is a valuable tool for authors though, but I haven't seen couples like you interact really, that's the only reason I'm asking. Truth be told, the story probably won't even feature sex until I figure out what the readers want now-a-days, so you don't have worry about me making this weird. Just a note here or there about how you two interact in everyday situations or stuff like that. Totally chaste, I swear."

"As long as you are not spying on us, and merely noting how we are in _public and not private_ situations, I think it will be alright. Still, let us think on it." Hikari replied diplomatically, though he tone was a bit threatening.

"You can say no; Like I said, it's more of a personal favor and I'm not going to refuse to take you on the trip because of it. Alright?"

"Thanks again." Tsukiko smiled wide, getting a laugh from the Sannin.

"Far be it from me to do nothing while two young ladies lament about something I can help with." He shrugged, getting a laugh from Hikari.

"I am quite a bit older than you, Jiraiya."

"Yeah yeah. Just be packed and ready to go by morning; we need to ask and get out of here before they can think on it too much. How long are you two planning on being gone?"

"I… however long it takes, I suppose." Tsukiko made a face, shrugging a moment later while Hikari nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

"We'll figure that out later then. Enjoy your night then; tomorrow we're heading out."

With that he dispelled the jutsu and left, gently shutting the door behind him. Jiraiya chuckled a bit at the excited laughs that echoed from the room as they ran about and got Tsukiko's stuff packed up. He supposed that he wouldn't really have to take notes or anything; the two of them were really just like any other couple about to run off together.

If nothing else he wouldn't have to worry about politics on this little venture, so that was always a plus.

* * *

Sorry if there are any errors that ruin the flow; I've been dead tired and I didn't have too much of a chance to proofread. Still, I can edit it if anything is too jarring.

A reader reviewed that he would hate to see them get stuck in Konoha, and I think that's what was holding me up with this chapter. So hats off to you good sir, you've inspired me to write more for this.

Now if only I could summon more time to write…

Ja Ne, my Freaky Darlings!


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